Minister of Local Development Mahmoud Shaarawy said the Egyptian ancient city of Luxor will host the World Cities Day celebrations on Oct. 30-31 under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.
The minister reiterated on Sunday that the event will be attended by a host of senior officials, including ministers, governors and mayors from all over the world.
He noted that an agreement has been inked with Miamona Mohamed Sherief, executive director of the United Nations Human Settlement Program, to host the event.
This step reflects Luxor’s cultural and archeological status as well as achievements made by the Egyptian state in the urban development domain, he said.
The minister added that a conference is set to be held to mark this occasion and contribute to shedding light on achievements made by Egypt over the past seven years in the domains of infrastructure upgrade and the establishment of new cities, including the New Administrative Capital.
The general theme of World Cities Day is Better City, Better Life, while each year a different sub-theme and a location for its global observance is selected, to either promote successes of urbanization, or address specific challenges resulting from urbanization.
The theme for World Cities Day this year is Adapting Cities for Climate Resilience. Cities worldwide are increasingly suffering the effects of climate-related disasters, such as floods, droughts, sea level rise, heatwaves, landslides and storms. At least 130 port cities with over one million inhabitants are expected to be affected by coastal flooding and the one billion people in urban informal settlements are particularly at risk.
Creating more sustainable, climate-resilient societies involves addressing a range of issues including poverty reduction, ensuring basic services livelihoods, the provision of accessible, affordable and adequate housing, investing in infrastructure, upgrading informal settlements and managing ecosystems. Successful, well-governed cities greatly reduce climate-related risks for their populations.
Source: State Information Service Egypt