Manama, October 10 (BNA) The Office of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, Issam bin Abdullah Khalaf, inaugurated today the fifth session of the Bahrain Smart Cities Summit at the Gulf Conference Center in the Gulf Hotel, in the presence of the Minister of Housing, Basem bin. Jacob Hamer and senior officials.
Technology, sustainability and smart city experts from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates participated in the two-day event.
250 representatives of public and private entities concerned with transforming smart sustainable cities into a reality participated in the summit. More than 15 exhibitors from the private sector, ministries and government departments also participated in the accompanying exhibition.
In his speech at the event, the Minister of Works stressed that the importance of the Bahrain Smart Cities Summit 2021 stems from the fact that it comes after the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, noting that it is among the specialized conferences that provide a platform to benefit from international expertise and pioneering experiences that will positively reflect on urban progress. for the kingdom.
He expressed his confidence that the plenary sessions will provide opportunities to learn how to benefit from integrating successful experiences at the global level with existing initiatives and studies at the local level to enable the Kingdom to make a qualitative leap in the field of smart sustainable cities.
He expressed his thanks and appreciation to the organizers and sponsors of the fifth edition of the Bahrain Smart Cities Summit, praising all their efforts and endeavors to make the event a success.
During the opening ceremony, Minister Khalaf honored the winners of the Summit Awards for their valuable projects related to the establishment of sustainable smart cities characterized by sustainability and smart solutions in a number of fields.
Edamah CEO, Amin Al-Arayedh, also delivered a statement highlighting the company’s “smart” initiatives, including the Mantis Bahrain Hotel and Resort Hawar Island and the Algeria Beach development project, noting that the two projects will transform Bahrain into a marine destination. Through the use of renewable energy through the generation of solar and wind energy, as well as water purification.
The United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Office of Policy and Program Support at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Huoliang Shu, also addressed the summit from a distance.
NS