This office, whose opening ceremony took place in the presence of Minister of National Land Development, Urban Planing, Housing and City Policy Nouzha Bouchareb and Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Program Maimunah Mohd Sharif, aims to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two parties, since it will allow the Kingdom to benefit from the support of the United Nations program in the implementation of policies in the field of development and housing.
In this sense, and following the "headquarters agreement" signed on May 11, 2016 between the UN Habitat and the government of Morocco, the opening of this office is intended as a means to open up to partner countries of UN-Habitat, in particular African countries, by sharing its expertise in land development, urban planning, housing and city policy and by drawing inspiration from the experiences of other countries of the continent in this area.
Speaking on this occasion, Bouchareb noted that the inauguration of the office of the UN-Habitat in Morocco is part of the renewal and strengthening of cooperation between the Kingdom and the United Nations program for human settlements, and within the framework of Morocco's adherence to the various agendas and international conventions in the field of sustainable urban development.
For her part, Maimunah Mohd Sharif said that the opening of a UN Habitat office in Rabat is part of the cooperation of the UN program with its government partners to work jointly to achieve the SDGs, including Goal 11 of making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
The UN official noted that the program granted in 2010 a certificate for the national program "Cities without Slums" in recognition of its exceptional work in erasing around 60% of slums.
This ceremony was also marked by the signature of the 2020-2023 UN-Habitat Country Program.