Bahrain Expands Global Collaboration on Sustainable Cities

Bahrain highlighted its achievements in housing and sustainable urban development at the United Nations Midterm Review of the New Urban Agenda, with Minister of Housing and Urban Planning Amna bint Ahmed Al Rumaihi representing the Kingdom at the high-level gathering in New York.

Addressing two ministerial sessions, the Minister outlined Bahrain's comprehensive housing strategy, highlighting programmes that provide citizens with multiple pathways to home ownership. These include housing finance, land and housing unit purchase schemes, off-plan projects and flexible funding solutions designed to meet the needs of different income groups.

The minister also highlighted Bahrain's progress in digitising housing services, noting that digital transformation and integrated e-services have streamlined procedures, reduced processing times and improved access to government services for beneficiaries.

She pointed to the Government Land Development Programme as a successful model of public-private partnership, explaining how collaboration with private developers has accelerated the delivery of quality housing projects while maximising the use of government-owned land.

On the sidelines of the summit, the minister met with UN-Habitat Executive Director Ana Claudia Rocha to discuss expanding cooperation in urban planning, technical expertise and institutional capacity building. She also held talks with Malaysia's Minister of Housing and Local Government, Nga Kor Ming, on strengthening collaboration in housing development, financing mechanisms and digital government services.