Mideast, African urban planners to convene at Dubai training workshop

Urban planners from throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) will be meeting in Dubai Sunday through Tuesday for the Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning training workshop to discuss concerns and other issues relating to public transportation.

Countries that will have representation at the workshop include Algeria, Jordan, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Turkey, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The conference is sponsored by the Islamic Development Bank Group, International Road Transport Union (IRU) and the German International Corporation.

"Mobility ... is a basic necessity for the social and economic development of people, cities and entire countries,” Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said.“The IRU sees that most cities in the MENA countries have great potential to further develop transport systems for the growing population of the region. The regional training workshop aims at sharing knowledge on sustainable urban mobility planning, public and private sector stakeholder involvement, and the importance of participatory inclusion during the process.”

Sulayem will open the conference with an address at the Hyatt Regency in Dubai. Participants also will be able to partake in a training session on how cities can become sustainable in the development of land and their transportation systems.