Minister of Local Development Manal Awad held a meeting Thursday with Housing Minister Sherif el-Sherbiny to review preparations for Egypt hosting of the World Urban Forum (WUF12) in November. The gathering is to be held in cooperation with the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat). The meeting was attended by head of the program Rania Hedaya, Aswan Governor Amr Lashin, along with other officials. Awad asserted keenness on the part of the government on providing all means to render the forum a success. Meanwhile, Sherbiny said Egypt will be the first African country to host the WUF since its inauguration in Nairobi and the second Arab country to host the event after Abu Dhabi hosted its 10th round. Source: State Information Service Egypt