ABU DHABI: Undersecretaries of the ministries of housing and relevant ministries of member countries of the Cooperation Council of the Arab states of the Gulf (GCC) held their 12th meeting Saturday in preparation for the meeting of housing ministers on Sunday under the chairmanship of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al-Nahyan, Minister of Public Works.

Undersecretary of the Ministry of Public Works Abdullah Balhaif Al-Nuaimi underline continuous joint efforts among member states to drive housing plans and meet the needs of their citizens.

He further reiterated the interest of the UAE in backing efforts to realize the aspirations of the leaders of the GCC member states.

Participants viewed the proceedings of the 29th meeting and the 30th meeting of the technical team and the decision by the GCC Housing Ministerial Council last June in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the unified bylaws of ministerial committees.

They also viewed the proceedings of recent meetings to advance performance and remove barriers to housing plans as well as the relevant recommendations.

The Undersecretaries agreed on referring proposals of members states to the GCC standardization body and the economic sector at GCC General Secretariat.

The meeting also discussed coordination among GCC member states at the meetings of Arab housing and construction ministers at the Arab League. A report on all proposed items for the agendas of such meetings will be prepared in order to unify positions of GCC states in advance. Arab ministers are holding a coordination meeting on 14 and 15 December at the Arab League in Cairo, Egypt.

The agenda of the 11th meeting of GCC housing ministers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, workshops and seminars on housing, the unified GCC building code, Qatar’s proposal to host the technical bureau of the project on the unified code were also discussed at the meeting in Abu Dhabi.