World Cities Summit to be held in Singapore

Business Times 12 Feb 08

SINGAPORE will host the first World Cities Summit, a premier international conference on public governance and sustainable development of cities, from June 23-25 this year.

The summit, which has as its theme 'Liveable and Vibrant Cities', will discuss the challenges of urbanisation and examine best practices for the sustainable development of cities.

Discussion topics include issues related to effective governance, urban planning, infrastructure development, environmental sustainability, quality of life, and economic competitiveness.

The event will feature several prominent and internationally renowned speakers, including Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Haruhiko Kuroda, president of the Asian Development Bank; Noeleen Heyzer, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific; and Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman Al-Hussayen, minister for water and electricity in Saudi Arabia.

The World Cities Summit is jointly organised by Singapore's Civil Service College, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, and the ministry of national development.

A joint press statement from the organisers said the summit will bring together ministers, city mayors, senior government officials, experts and business leaders from around the world, including a good number from Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

The inaugural World Cities Summit will be held at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

During that same week, Singapore will launch the inaugural Singapore International Water Week 2008, which has as its theme 'Sustainable Water Solutions for Cities'.

A third event, the East Asia Summit Conference on Liveable Cities, is also being held in conjunction with the World Cities Summit. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will officiate at the joint opening ceremony for all three events and will deliver the keynote address.

Apart from the plenary sessions and breakout tracks, the World Cities Summit will offer site visits for delegates to engage practitioners and get a better understanding of policy implementation.

Singapore to host first World Cities Summit
Fiona Chan, Straits Times 12 Feb 08;

SINGAPORE will host the world's first-ever international conference on the public governance and sustainable development of cities in June.

The World Cities Summit will focus on the challenges of urbanisation and discuss how to develop 'liveable and vibrant' cities, the theme of the conference.

About 300 ministers, mayors, senior officials and business leaders from around the world are expected to attend the three-day event, which is organised by the Ministry of National Development, the Singapore Civil Service College and the National University of Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

The summit's strategic partners include the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and several United Nations programmes.

Speakers will include ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and Saudi Arabia's Minister for Water and Electricity Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman Al-Hussayen. They will discuss important issues facing cities such as urban planning and conservation, solid waste management, land transportation and environmental sustainability.

The conference will be at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre from June 23 to 25. It will be held at the same time as the inaugural Singapore International Water Week, and in conjunction with the East Asia Summit Conference on Liveable Cities.