China has given the assurance that the fourth session of the World Urban Forum scheduled 3-7 November in the Chinese city of Nanjing will go ahead successfully: “We place very high expectation on the World Forum. We will spare no effort to ensure a successful Forum,” said Mr. Zhang Taolin, Vice-Governor of Jiangsu Province in a meeting with UN-HABITAT officials. Mr. Taolin, headed an eight-member delegation which came to Nairobi to establish strategic relationship between Jiangsu Province, of which Nanjing is the capital, and the two United Nations programmes in Kenya, UN-HABITAT, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). UN-HABITAT officials cited the agency’s “long and positive” relationship with China. They gave a detailed briefing on the work of the agency, and said UN-HABITAT looked forward to deepening the relationship with the Jiangsu Province, whose capital city, Nanjing, will host the Fourth session of the World Urban Forum. They also explained how the Forum was an event of great interest not only to the UN and UN-HABITAT, but to the international community as a whole. The officials expressed appreciation to China for the efforts it is making to ensure the Forum’s success. Members of the Jiangsu delegation included: the Director-General of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Information Industry, Mr. Xie Zhengyi; Deputy Director-General, Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology, Mr. Li Qi; Director-General, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Science Academy, Prof. Yang Guishan; and his Deputy, Prof. Shen Renfang. Others are: Deputy Director-General, Office of Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government, Mr. Hang Yuxin; Deputy Director of Asia Affairs Division, Foreign Affairs Office of Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government, Mr. Gao Yan; and Ms. Xu Yun of the same Office. |
