DOHA: Undersecretary of Kuwait's Municipality Saad Al-Muhilby (center) with administration of coordination chief Jassim Al-Habib and head of the planning department Suleiman Al-Rashed. - KUNA

DOHA: The State of Kuwait is keen on applying sustained urban development principles on city planning, a visiting official of the Gulf state has affirmed. The affirmation of this approach was declared by the Undersecretary of Kuwait's Municipality and member of a team specialized in designing united strategy for architectural planning in Gulf countries Saad Al-Muhilby yesterday.

Muhilby stated on the sidelines of the 57th conference of International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) for the year 2021, that applying comprehensive urban planning measures aims to develop adaptable cities, able to withstand harsh weather conditions and develop policies to ease environmental challenges such as pollution and global warming. He added that architectural planning deals with multipurpose technologies, rapid changes and sudden challenges.

Muhilby touched on Kuwait's interest in applying architectural policies and managing operations in field of comprehensive planning, and transforming its cities to ecofriendly cities. Muhilby stated that architectural development aims to preserve the authenticity of Kuwaiti identity in architecture by integrating heritage with creativity, and utilizing the unique ecosystem. He pointed out that the conference, with promise of (new times .. better places .. stronger societies), aims to facilitate the exchange of expertise and ideas, and to attain a better future for people in people-friendly cities.

Muhilby stated that the conference sheds light on the necessity of carving a new path and developing creative methods, in order to build better places for local communities. He also said that it aims to strengthen new urban principles in regards to health, luxury, and lessons learned from the pandemic.

On Kuwait's participation in the conference, Muhilby commented that a work sheet with Kuwait's organizational structure will be presented today during the discussions session. The session will be attended by GCC representatives specialized in executing united architectural strategy for member states. It will also be discussing border areas and future development opportunities.

The conference, taking place in Doha, was launched yesterday and will last until Nov 11. Participating in it are 350 persons from all over the world, 150 of whom participating remotely, and it handles matters of international planning, architectural strategies and other related topics. Representing Kuwait, in addition to Muhilby, is administration of coordination chief Jassim Al-Habib and head of the planning department Suleiman Al-Rashed. - KUNA