Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Related Articles
Damascus, SANA – Public Works and Housing Minister Hussein Arnous discussed on Saturday with resident representative of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) in Syria Szilard Fricskas and members of the UN-HABITAT office cooperation in the field of reconstruction, particularly in rehabilitating damaged areas.
Arnous stressed the importance of benefiting from the expertise available at UN-HABITAT for assessing and surveying damages to Syrian cities and areas due to terrorist actions, in addition to the need for coordinating between UN-HABITAT and the ministry’s departments, as well as discussing the possibility of training regional planning staff.
For his part, Fricskas said UN-HABITAT responds to crises via work mechanisms that help affected locals by supporting local administrations, and that the UN-HABITAT priorities for the next two years involve providing direct financial grants along with a program for supporting capabilities for local establishments so that they can improve affected neighborhoods and allow locals to return to their areas and normal lives.
He also stressed the importance of coordinating with the Public Works and Housing Ministry as the tasks of the UN-HABITAT fall within the ministry’s field of work.
The two sides also agreed to prepare a memo of understanding that sets the fields of cooperation between them and each side’s tasks, particularly during the next couple of years.
Hazem Sabbagh
