Gateway to sustainable, green and resilient urban development

Connecting past and future, UN-Habitat’s Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif started her visit to Japan, Singapore and Malaysia. This trip commenced with the 25th anniversary celebration of UN-Habitat’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, ROAP, in Fukuoka and participation in the 13th Asia Pacific City Summit. 

 UN-Habitat has benefited from Fukuoka’s gateway location, technological knowhow and support for international development. This unique collaboration has allowed to transfer environmental technology, such as low-carbon solid waste management and affordable solutions for rainwater harvesting, across the Asia-Pacific region and to cities in the Middle East and Africa. Cities in developing countries, for example, Kathmandu in Nepal, Can Tho in Viet Nam and refugee settlements in Kenya have benefited from such technologies.

Sharif said that she was “humbled and deeply grateful that at the time of COVID-19, Fukuoka Prefecture, Fukuoka City and partners remain committed to support UN-Habitat to improve the lives of people in developing countries in the region”. In June 2022, the collaboration agreement with UN-Habitat was extended for five more years.

 The Fukuoka local governments and private sector partners have supported UN-Habitat’s regional office since 1997. The office with a team of highly specialized international experts is hosted in the unique ACROS Building, designed as a terraced forest, in Fukuoka.

 UN-Habitat’s programme in Asia and the Pacific covers more than 35 developing countries. In the past two years alone, the team has provided technical support and assisted country offices in 73 projects, covering a range of housing and urban issues and monitoring progress on the SDGs.  

 During her visit, UN-Habitat’s Executive Director joined the opening of the 13th Asia Pacific City Summit, a Fukuoka City initiative established in 1984. Recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, city leaders from China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and seven more countries gathered to discuss how to address the challenge of the green and digital transition of cities and the need to focus more on the quality of life.

 At the occasion, Sharif encouraged an optimistic scenario for the future of cities, in line with UN-Habitat’s recently launched World Cities Report 2022.

 The Executive Director of UN-Habitat met with Mr. Seitaro Hattori, Governor of Fukuoka and Mr. Soichiro Takashima, Mayor of Fukuoka. She had meetings with other partners and shared her views with the Kyushu Economic Federation.

 “With rapid urbanization, the role of UN-Habitat responding to various urban and housing issues is more important and relevant than ever,” said Governor Hattori.

 Mayor Takashima, for his part, observed that "it is a common understanding among city leaders that municipalities have the roles and responsibilities to be part of the solutions for global issues such as responding to rapid climate change as well as COVID-19." He then called for "dialogues among various stakeholders towards a new future for the Asia and the Pacific region."

 UN-Habitat’s Executive Director is continuing her Asia-Pacific mission with high-level meetings in Tokyo, then joining the World Cities Summit in Singapore and official meetings in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, Malaysia. In Penang, she will launch a large new UN-Habitat green city programme.