TANGIERS, Morocco, Feb 1 (KUNA) -- Secretary-General of the Arab Towns Organization Abdulrahman Al-Asfour extolled the State of Kuwait for "the limitless support" it offered to the organization since its inception on March 15, 1967.
"Thanks to generous contributions from Kuwait, the ATO was able to gain international recognition and build various partnerships on regional and international scales," he said in his inaugural speech to the 62nd session of the organization's executive board in Tangiers on Saturday.
Al-Asfour highlighted the significance of codifying urban concepts in Arab countries while building sustainable cities and developing modern architecture without doing away with national heritage.
He urged scaling up cooperation among the municipal authorities of the Arab countries to achieve urban development and realize the goals of the organization in keeping with the international technical standards.
Dealing with the recent crises in the Arab region, the ATO chief regretted the extensive damage inflected on Syrian, Palestinian, Lebanese and Sudanese cities.
The organization spares no effort in helping rehabilitate the war-ravaged cities, he added. (end) mry.ams.gb