Recognition for India: Venkaiah Naidu on getting elected as prez of GC UN-Habitat

Hyderabad: Union urban development minister M. Venkaiah Naidu has said getting elected as president of the UN Habitat Governing Council was not an individual honour for him, but a recognition for India. India’s efforts in inclusive urban development were recognized by the world body and hence the appointment, he said.

“I am really moved by the affection shown by friends, well-wishers, media friends, party workers and others greeting me on this occasion. It is not that Venkaiah Naidu got a recognition. It is a recognition for India. All our countrymen feel proud,” Mr. Naidu said while speaking at a Meet and Greet programme here on Saturday. The Union minister returned to the city on Friday night after a four-day tour of Nairobi (Kenya).

The minister said the governing council met every two years and it consisted of 58 member states, which represented five regional groups. Member states are elected for a period of four years by the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) which in turn is elected by the General Assembly of the UN consisting of 193 sovereign states, he said.

The Union minister explained that the mandate of the UN-Habitat was derived from the Habitat Agenda adopted by the UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1996. The twin goals of the Habitat Agenda are adequate shelter for all and the development of sustainable human settlements in an urbanising world,” he said.

“Every two years, the governing council examines the UN-Habitat’s work and relationships with its partners. It’s a high-level forum of governments at the ministerial level during which policy guidelines and the organization’s budget are approved for the next two-year period,” the minister said. Naidu said India was currently the chair of the Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development and he’s the chair of the bureau.