Dubai and Shanghai on Monday discussed ways of strengthening mutual cooperation and expanding bilateral relations in the field of municipal work, in pursuance of a twinning agreement signed by the two cities in 2000.
The meeting, held on Monday at the Dubai Municipality headquarters, was attended by Hussain Nasser Lootah, acting director general of Dubai Municipality, and Han Zheng, Mayor of Shanghai, who led a 14-member delegation of senior Shanghai municipal officials and CEOs from the city.
The twinning agreement includes various clauses focusedon reinforcing cooperation between the two cities and exchanging expertise in the economic and commercial fields.
It also seeks to boost cultural exchange and cooperation of youth in the fields of sports and other activities.
'One of our recent accomplishments is in the field of e-Governance as we have transferred more than 90 per cent of civic services to e-Services and we are aiming for zero visits of the customers to the municipal offices, which we hope will be accomplished very soon,' Lootah told the Shanghai delegation.
He briefed the delegation on Dubai Municipality's major tasks such as urban planning, supervision of building and construction activities in the city, undertaking landscaping and city beautification projects, environment conservation, providing adequate drainage and irrigation network, overseeing public health and safety, and food control, among other things.
Lootah also praised the Chinese people and their government for their outstanding success in hosting the 2008 Beijing Olympics that displayed the exemplary technical and administrative skills of the Chinese people.
The Shanghai Mayor invited Dubai Municipality officials to visit the Shanghai World Exposition 2010 which will be held from May 1 to October 31, 2010 in the Chinese city focusing on the theme 'Better City, Better Life.'
The exhibition is expected to be attended by more than 200 nations, international organisations and 70 million visitors from home and abroad. - TradeArabia News Service