After 10 years, India has been unanimously elected as the president of the UN-Habitat, an organ of the United Nations Organisation (UNO) that promotes socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements across the world. The UN-Habitat reports to the United Nations General Assembly.
Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation M Venkaiah Naidu will preside over the deliberations of the Governing Council of UN-Habitat for the next two years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a tweet congratulated Naidu on being elected as the President of the Governing Council of UN Habitat in Nairobi on Monday. Prime Minister further said, “I am sure you will give your best and contribute towards creation of futuristic cities.”
Since the UN-Habitat came into being in 1978, it is only the third time that India has been elected to lead this important organisation after 2007 and 1988. Naidu will chair the four-day meeting of the 58 member Governing Council of UN-Habitat in Nairobi, Kenya.
Addressing the Governing Council of UN-Habitat, Naidu elaborated on the integrated, inclusive and sustainable urban development model of India through various new missions like Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Smart City Mission, Swachh Bharat Mission and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.