DOHA: Minister of Municipality HE Dr Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Subaie expressed the ministry's aspiration to continue its cooperation with the Central Municipal Council to serve the country and the citizens, underscoring the full readiness of the Ministry of Municipality to provide all aspects of cooperation and support to the council to further advancing municipal work.
At the opening of the meetings of the 7th session of the Central Municipal Council on Monday, the Minister of Municipality said that with the beginning of the meetings of this new session, the Ministry of Municipality is looking forward to continuing and strengthening the existing cooperation with the council in a way that serves the country and the citizens and achieves the common goals in advancing municipal work in all municipalities, pursuant to the directives of HH the Amir and in light of the support and follow-up of Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.
He stressed the ministry's readiness to provide all aspects of cooperation and support to the Central Municipal Council to develop municipal work and welcomes communication with the council's members to present the demands of their constituencies and learn about the projects being implemented there and other municipal matters and services.
In his speech on this occasion, the Minister of Municipality expressed his sincere congratulations to the elected members of this new session of the council, whose meetings began on Monday for the seventh time in the history of this pioneering democratic experience, which is supported and sponsored in its successive sessions by HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
He underlined the ministry's interest in the council's recommendations or requests aimed at serving the public interest within the framework of its keenness to ensure the success of the role of council members to meet the aspirations of the citizens in their constituencies., and achieve the desired goals in improving the level of services in all cities and regions to contribute to achieving comprehensive development plans in the country.
Dr Al Subaie praised the renaissance and development witnessed by all municipalities and the achievements and successes achieved in recent years, particularly with all Qatari cities obtaining the title (Healthy City) from the World Health Organization, making Qatar the first country in the Eastern Mediterranean region to achieve this accomplishment. He added that six Qatari cities obtained membership in the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities, Al Wakrah won the UNESCO Learning Cities Award for 2021, and Al Daayen won the Arab Socially Responsible City Award for 2023.
His Excellency also pointed out that these achievements and successes of the municipalities are the culmination of the great efforts to improve the quality of life and the health and well-being of the population to achieve the strategic objectives of the Ministry of Municipality in preserving environmentally friendly cities with green facilities, in addition to providing sustainable and healthy options for all its residents in line with the march of renaissance, development, and prosperity witnessed by the State of Qatar.
He expressed his pride in the great success achieved in organizing the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar and the country's readiness to host the International Horticultural Expo 2023 Doha Qatar, which will start on October 2 and will continue until March 28, 2024, as it will constitute an opportunity to present the country's progress in the field of environment, sustainability, and natural beauty, and to receive guests from different countries of the world to exchange ideas and experiences in these important areas.
At the end of his speech, Dr Al Subaie wished the members of the council success in performing their duties, conveying the needs of citizens, and making appropriate recommendations regarding them, which will be welcomed by the Ministry of Municipality in the interest of the country and the citizens.
The first meeting of the Central Municipal Council (CMC) in its 7th session was held on Monday morning, under the chairpersonship of Mohamed bin Hammoud Al Shafi, the council's eldest member.
Al Shafi delivered a speech in which he welcomed the members of the council, wishing success for the council in continuing to perform its duty in serving the country and citizens and advancing municipal work under the wise leadership of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Members of the council took the legal oath and then voted to choose a president and a vice-president for the council. The vote-counting process resulted in the victory of member Mohammad bin Ali Al Athba as the president of CMC for this session and member Mubarak bin Fraish Al Salem as the vice-president.
In a statement after his election as president of the Central Municipal Council in its current session, Mohammad bin Ali Al Athba affirmed that there are many topics that will be discussed during this session in light of the country's hosting of the International Horticultural Expo 2023 Doha and other major events, stressing his determination as well as his fellow members, to exert more efforts to continue the march of the council and consolidate the principles and concepts of municipal work to go alongside the governmental bodies and other institutions in the country.
Al Athba highlighted the keenness of all members to perform the tasks and responsibilities entrusted to them with sincerity and loyalty to move forward towards advancing municipal work and expressing the needs and requirements of citizens.
In the same context, the vice president of CMC Mubarak bin Fraish Al Salem confirmed the council's continuation in following up on its previous efforts and expressing the hopes and aspirations of citizens in cooperation with the Ministry of Municipality and the competent authorities, indicating that the council has a lot of work ahead of it, whether in forming committees or in terms of achieving the aspirations and requests of citizens in light of the state's hosting of many major events.
The council consists of representatives from 29 constituencies covering all areas of the country. It aims to work with the means available on the progress of the country in the field of municipal affairs and has the powers to monitor the implementation of laws, resolutions, and regulations relating to the powers and competencies of the Ministry of Municipality and the Central Municipal Council, including the affairs of building regulation, land planning, roads, shops, industrial, public and other regulations.