By Geri Powell and Kay Scrimger
May 19, 2008

Developed and hosted by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, the first-ever U.S.-Arab Mayors Forum was held April 28-30 in Chicago. The historic conference brought together about 50 mayors from 18 nations to share best practices, exchange information, and build new relationships.

Daley pointed out that, “This is the first time that Arab and U.S. mayors have come together to learn from each other and seek solutions to problems that cities all over the world face. These new relationships will lead to greater understanding between cities and greater friendship between nations.”

The Forum culminated in the signing of a Letter of Intent between the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Arab Towns Organization, expressing their joint commitment to exploring areas of future cooperation and collaboration.

Conference of Mayors Executive Director and CEO Tom Cochran said, “The Conference of Mayors was very pleased to participate in this historic assembling of U.S. and Arab mayors. We have signified our interest in continuing a dialogue with our counterpart organization in the Arab world, the Arab Towns Organization, by signing a Letter of Intent.”

Representing the Arab Towns Organization (ATO) was Deputy Secretary General Ahmad M. S. Al-Adsani of Kuwait City. A non-governmental regional Arab organization with no political or ideological affiliation, the ATO was established in Kuwait in 1967.

Mayors and representatives from 16 nations in the Arab world participated in the Forum. These were Algeria (1 mayor), Bahrain (1), Djibouti (1), Iraq (3), Jordan (6), Kuwait (3), Lebanon (4), Libya (4), Mauritania (1), Morocco (3), Palestinian Authority (5), Qatar (2), Saudi Arabia (3), United Arab Emirates (3), Union of the Comoros (1), and Yemen (1).

Ten mayors from North America participated in the Forum, nine from the US and one from Canada. The U.S. mayors were Daley, Aurora (IL) Mayor Thomas J. Weisner, Batavia (IL) Mayor Jeffrey D. Schielke, Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr., Issaquah (WA) Mayor Ava Frisinger, Kansas City (MO) Mayor Mark Funkhouser, Mobile (AL) Mayor Samuel L. Jones, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, and Wayne (MI) Mayor Abdul Haidous. The Canadian mayor was Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis.

Co-chairs of the Forum, along with Daley, were His Excellency Omar Maani, Mayor of Amman (Jordan), and His Excellency Mohamed Sajid, Mayor of Casablanca (Morocco), two of Chicago’s Sister Cities.

During the three days of the meeting, Arab and U.S. mayors exchanged ideas and best practices on three areas of increasing importance to mayors and other local leaders of global cities – environment and sustainability, education and youth, and economic development. Lively and interactive exchanges followed each mayoral panel.

On the second day, the Forum participants took part in the Fourth Annual Richard J. Daley Urban Forum at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Its theme was “Five Billion Urban Dwellers: The Creative Opportunity in the Growth of Cities.”

Arab and U.S. mayors joined other international and local authorities on panels to share their observations on “Global Citizenship: The Emergence of New Communities,” “The City as a Catalyst: The Creative Potential in Urbanization,” and “The New Urban Dweller: Addressing the Challenge and Opportunity of Urbanization.”

Cornett, a panelist on the morning panel, “The New City Dwellers,” discussed his city’s challenges of experiencing rapid 13 percent population growth over the last decade.

Cornett highlighted Oklahoma City’s Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) strategy, which resulted in successful projects of the Bricktown Ballpart, the Bricktown Canal, the Cox Convention Center, the Civic Center Music Hall, educational improvements, better quality of life, and the new trolley system.

Jones contributed to the “Innovation in Access to Health Care and Education” panel, outlining the successes of his city in strategies to improve health care and education for the citizens of Mobile.

Founded in 2005 as a joint initiative of the Daley Family and the University of Illinois at Chicago, the Richard J. Daley Urban Forum is an annual symposium for the discussion of critical issues facing urban areas throughout the world.

Letter of Intent Signifies Future Cooperation

The final day of the U.S.-Arab Mayors Forum culminated in the signing of a Letter of Intent between the Conference of Mayors and ATO, expressing their joint commitment to working together to explore ways of future cooperation and collaboration.

Cochran commented, “On behalf of the mayors of the United States, we express our great thanks to Mayor Daley for convening this seminal meeting of Arab and U.S. mayors. We thank the Arab Towns Organization for joining with the Conference of Mayors in signifying our hope and intent to continue the dialogue on critical urban issues that we have begun at this meeting.”

Al-Adsani expressed his appreciation to Daley for the U.S.-Arab Mayors Forum and the opportunity for his organization to begin a cooperative relationship with their counterpart in the United States.

 Daley, Maani and Sajid formally witnessed the signing.

The Letter of Intent expressed the hope of continuing to foster understanding and collaboration between U.S. and Arab local governmental leaders in economic development, education, the environment, and other critical urban issues, thereby contributing to stronger local governments and thus a more peaceful world.

The mayors and other representatives from sixteen nations in the Arab world are listed below, alphabetically, by name of their city:

Executive Director, Department of Municipal Affairs, Abdullah Ghareeb, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates;

Undersecretary, Department of Municipal Affairs, Ahmed Shareef, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates;

Governor Ahmed Mohamed Yahya Al-Kohlani, Aden, Yemen;

Mayor Wajdi Amin Mrad, Aley, Lebanon;

Wali Mohamed Kebir Addou, Algiers, Algeria;

Mayor Omar Maani, Ammanm Jordon, Co-chair of Forum, and a Chicago Sister City;

Mayor Nouha Ghosseini, Baakline, Lebanon;

Mayor Hani Abdalmasih Al-Hayek, Beit Sahour, Palestinian Authority;

Chief Executive Officer, Planning and Development Authority, Adam Saleh Kuwiri, Benghazi, Libya;

Mayor Yousef Nasser, Birzeit, Palestinian Authority;

Mayor Mohamed Sajid, Casablanca, Morocco, Co-chair of Forum, and Chicago Sister City;

Mayor Mohammed Saad El Alami, Chefchaouen, Morocco;

Mayor Ali Ismail Yabeh, Djibouti, Djibouti;

Chairman of the Central Municipal Council Nasser Al Kaabi, Doha, Qatar;

Director Ibrahim Abdulla Al Malki, Doha, Qatar;

Mayor Dhaifallah A. Al-Utaibi, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia;

Mayor Sa’ad Awad Rashid Al-Dulaimi, Falllujah, Iraq;

Mayor Jereis Fares Sweiss, Fuheis, Jordan;

Chief Executive Officer, General Institution for Housing and Utilities, Najob N. Khalifa, Gharian, Libya;

Mayor Assem Har , Gharife’, Lebanon;

Mayor Rana Khalaf Al-Hajaya, Hassa, Jordan;

Mayor Khaled Osaily, Hebron, Palestinian Authority;

Mayor Abdel-Raouf Rashid Al-Ali Al-Tal; Irbid, Jordan;

Mayor Adel Mohammad Fakeih, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia;

Mayor Hasan Saleh El-Hussein, Jericho, Palestinian Authority;

Chairman of the Muncipal Council, Abdul Rahman Al-Humaidan, Kuwait City, Kuwait;

Deputy Secretary General, Arab Towns Organization, Ahmad M.S. Al-Adsani, Kuwait City, Kuwait;

Minister Mousa Husain Al Sarraf, Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Kuwait; Chairman of the Council Majeed Melad Ahmed Alijazeeri, Manama, Bahrain;

President of the Island of Ngazidja Mohamed Abdouloihabi, Moroni, Union of the Comoros;

Mayor Zuhair Muhsin Abdul Aziz al Aaraji, Mosul, Iraq;

Chief Executive Officer, General Institution for Housing and Utilities, Mohamed A. Dawi, Nallut, Libya;

President Ahmed Hamza, Nouakchott, Mauritania;

Mayor Janet Michael, Ramallah, Palestinian Authority;

Mayor Abdulaziz bin Ayyaf Al-Mogren, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia;

Mayor Mousa Ali Al Saad, Russifeh, Jordan;

Mayor Salameh Ahmad Falah Al Hamad, Salt, Jordan;

Director General Salah Tahir Al Haj, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates;

Mayor Moh Rejdali, Temara, Morocco;

Mayor Rachid El Jamali, Tripoli, Lebanon;

Co-chair, General Institution for Housing and Utilities, Mohamed A. Aboushhiwa, Tripoli, Libya; and

Mayor Majid Shaheed Muthanna, Warka, Iraq.