 UN-HABITAT Executive Director Joan Clos held talks last week with U.S. Secretary of State for Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan and other senior officials during his official visit to the United States. Mr. Donovan and the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, Esther Brimmer, hosted a formal lunch to welcome Dr. Clos. Dr. Brimmer is scheduled to lead the American delegation attending the 23rd session next month of countries in the Governing Council which oversees UN-HABITAT's work programme and budget. She welcomed the new UN-HABITAT drive to promote sustainable urban development and the new relevance of urban planning in the work of the organization. In other high-level meetings, Dr. Clos also met Derek Douglas, Special Assistant to President Obama for Urban Affairs at the White House Domestic Policy Council, Xavier Briggs and Ruxundra Pond of the Office of Management and Budget. |
