Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development (APMCHUD)

APMCHUD stands for the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development. This card shows what it is and how it began. Later cards give the dates and the structure.

What kind of body is it?

UN-Habitat’s report on the 4th conference calls APMCHUD an inter-governmental body of ministers. These ministers are responsible for housing and human settlements.

The Delhi Declaration of 2006 set it up as a consultative mechanism. Its job is to promote sustainable development of human settlements in Asia and the Pacific.

The Bureau’s draft minutes of 21 May 2026 call it a non-political and technical platform. It helps countries share experience and knowledge on housing and urban development.

Who set it up, and when?

Ministers met in New Delhi on 15 and 16 December 2006. They adopted the Delhi Declaration. In it they decided to establish APMCHUD.

The whole first conference ran from 13 to 16 December 2006. The ministers met in the last two days.

India convened and hosted the conference. The Declaration says UN-Habitat’s Executive Director helped to convene it jointly with India. The Bureau’s draft minutes of 21 May 2026 also say APMCHUD was established in December 2006.

Why a forum for the whole region?

The 2006 Declaration gives its own reasons. It said Asia-Pacific held 61 per cent of the world’s people and 43 per cent of the world’s urban people. Those are 2006 figures.

It also noted that a sizeable part of the region’s urban population lived in slums.

How many members does it have?

The Bureau’s draft minutes of 21 May 2026 speak of 68 member countries. They say the list is the one drawn up by the United Nations. The APMCHUD member page lists countries and territories with their government websites.

Six ministerial conferences were held between 2006 and 2016. They came two years apart. This card lists them and shows who hosted.

How do the six conferences line up?

Which countries hosted?

The Bureau’s draft minutes list the hosts. They are Iran (Tehran, 2008), Indonesia (Solo, 2010), Jordan (Amman), Korea (Seoul, 2014) and India (New Delhi, 2016). India had hosted the first one in 2006.

So India hosted twice. Iran, Indonesia, Jordan and Korea hosted once each. The count is our own arithmetic from these lists.

A memory line helps: Delhi, Tehran, Solo, Amman, Seoul, Delhi.

The early declarations named the next host. The 2006 Declaration welcomed Iran’s offer. The Tehran Declaration welcomed Indonesia’s offer for 2010.

Was the 4th conference in 2012 or 2013?

The Amman Declaration says the ministers met in Amman on 10 to 12 December 2012. UN-Habitat’s report gives the same dates.

The Bureau’s draft minutes of 21 May 2026 say “Amman, 2013”. This lesson uses 2012, the year in the Declaration itself.

How many countries attended?

Reports differ, so this lesson gives no single count. The proceedings of the 1st conference speak of 35 countries. UN-Habitat’s 2006 page speaks of 38.

For the 6th conference, UN-Habitat reported delegations from 31 Asia-Pacific countries. PIB’s release before the event spoke of ministers and senior officials of 68 countries. The two figures may count different things.

APMCHUD has three organs and a few simple rules. This card shows both. It ends with the members of the 6th Bureau, as at 21 May 2026.

What are the three organs?

The Delhi Declaration says APMCHUD may initially be composed of three organs.

• The Biennial Ministerial Conference: it brings together the ministers responsible for housing and urban development.
• The Bureau: an elected group of member countries that holds office until the next conference.
• The Secretariat: the office that supports the work. Card 5 covers it.

How often does the Conference meet?

The Declaration says it shall normally meet after every two years. The hosting guidelines call it a biennial event. UN-Habitat’s 2016 news item uses the same word.

So “annual” is wrong.

Who picks the host?

The hosting guidelines set the rule. A member country hosts when the members consented to its offer at the previous conference. If no host is fixed, the Bureau may decide the venue.

The host proposes the dates and the theme. The Bureau endorses them. The host works out the theme with UN-Habitat.

The conference normally lasts three days. Two days go to executive-level talks. The ministers meet on the third day to adopt the final document.

What does the Bureau do?

The Conference elects the Bureau. It holds office until the next conference. India, as host and Chair of the first conference, became the first Chair of the Bureau.

The first Bureau had seven members: India, Iran, Malaysia, China, Azerbaijan, Jordan and Papua New Guinea. Malaysia was also the Rapporteur. The Tehran Declaration endorsed a second Bureau of seven.

The Bureau’s draft minutes say it oversees decisions through regular meetings. They say it meets about twice a year.

Who sits on the 6th Bureau?

The 6th conference chose the 6th Bureau. The draft minutes of 21 May 2026 list eight countries, so this list is as at that date. A 7th conference would elect a new Bureau.

• India: took the Chair after the 6th conference in 2016, as the draft minutes say.
• Republic of Korea, Iran, Indonesia, Jordan: earlier conference hosts.
• Sri Lanka, Iraq and Nauru: the other three members.

The APMCHUD home page also lists the Bureau and the Chief Coordinator.

Where does the host’s turn come from? The draft minutes say each host adopted a declaration and an implementation plan before it took the chair.

Each conference ends with papers that set out the aims and actions the ministers agreed. This card names them. It then shows what the first two Declarations asked for.

What are the outcome papers?

The Bureau’s draft minutes say each host adopted a declaration and an implementation plan. The APMCHUD website lists them under its documents.

In the Delhi Declaration, the ministers commit to tell their Heads of State and Government the outcome. They also commit to take appropriate action to implement it.

What did the 2006 Declaration ask APMCHUD to do?

The Declaration lists many functions. These are some of them.

• Link efforts: be a focal point that links regional initiatives and international processes on sustainable urbanisation.
• Budgets: bring urban issues into national budgets and macro-economic frameworks.
• Private sector: encourage partnerships for shelter, urban infrastructure and services.
• Finance: explore a regional fund for housing finance for the poor.
• Water and sanitation: encourage fast-track programmes to reach the MDG targets.

What did the Tehran Declaration add?

The Tehran Declaration of 2008 asked for action at the global level.

• ECOSOC: it invited leaders at the high-level segment to make sustainable urbanisation a standing item of the annual ministerial review.
• World Urban Forum: it asked the next session to advance action on urban poverty and architectural heritage.
• Structure: it agreed to reinforce APMCHUD’s structure and promote regional cooperation among members.

India hosts the Secretariat and has chaired the Bureau twice, counted from the Declarations and the Bureau minutes. This card shows what that means. It also shows how India’s ministry changed its name.

Where is the Secretariat?

The Tehran Declaration thanks India for the work of the APMCHUD Permanent Secretariat. The Amman Declaration thanks India for hosting the Permanent Secretariat in New Delhi.

The Bureau’s draft minutes of 21 May 2026 say India hosts the Permanent Secretariat, located in New Delhi.

The Secretariat’s own note gives more detail. It says the Secretariat sits at the premises of the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.

The 2006 Declaration had first allowed an interim Secretariat in India.

Who runs it day to day?

The Secretariat’s note names a Chief Coordinator. This is the Joint Secretary (Housing) in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. HUDCO coordinators assist.

The Chair of the Bureau designates the Chief Coordinator, according to the note.

What else does India do?

• Hosting: India hosted the 1st conference in 2006 and the 6th in 2016. PIB’s release of 13 December 2016 noted the ten-year gap.
• Chairing: India was the first Chair of the Bureau. It took the Chair again after the 2016 conference, as the draft minutes of 21 May 2026 say. That makes two terms, counted from the Declarations and the Bureau minutes.
• Supporting: the 2016 New Delhi Declaration thanks India for continuing to host the Permanent Secretariat.

How did India’s ministry change?

In 2016 the nodal ministry was Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation. PIB’s 2016 release and the 2016 Declaration both use that name.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs came into existence on 6 July 2017. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation with the Ministry of Urban Development.

UN-Habitat helped convene the first conference. Other bodies are named in the founding papers. This card shows who they are and what the papers say about each.

What does UN-Habitat do for it?

The 2006 Declaration says UN-Habitat’s Executive Director helped to convene the first conference with India.

The Tehran Declaration thanks UN-Habitat for its continued support to the Conference and its work in the region.

The hosting guidelines add two points. The host proposes the theme in consultation with UN-Habitat. The host may sign an MoU with UN-Habitat.

In 2016, the Executive Director spoke by message. He said Asia Pacific is the most important region for urbanization.

Which bodies did the 2006 Declaration name?

The Declaration thanked these partners of the first conference:

• UNESCAP, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
• UNESCWA, the commission for Western Asia.
• ADB, the Asian Development Bank.
• UNDP, the UN Development Programme.

It also praised the UN-Habitat and ADB partnership on water and sanitation for the urban poor.

Whom did it call on for support?

The Declaration called on co-operating partners to support APMCHUD. It named ASEAN, SAARC, the Pacific Islands Forum, ECO, other UN agencies, the Asian Development Bank and donors.

The Declaration does not name APEC. Card 9 shows why this matters for the exam.

What did the 2026 minutes say about support?

The Bureau’s draft minutes of 21 May 2026 record talks on support from one resource person at the UN-Habitat India Office. They also say APMCHUD’s Secretariat had enough funds for the next one to two years. Both points come from draft minutes.

The 6th conference met just after the world agreed a new urban plan. This card shows the order of events. It also shows what ministers said.

What came just before it?

Habitat III was the UN conference on housing and sustainable urban development. It met in Quito, Ecuador, from 17 to 20 October 2016. It adopted the New Urban Agenda.

The UN General Assembly endorsed the New Urban Agenda on 23 December 2016, in resolution 71/256.

What happened in New Delhi?

The 6th APMCHUD met in New Delhi from 14 to 16 December 2016. UN-Habitat’s news item says ministers endorsed the New Delhi Declaration and an implementation plan. These show the region how to carry out the New Urban Agenda.

UN-Habitat called it the first meeting of regional ministers two months after the approval of the New Urban Agenda. The Declaration itself calls it the first major regional meeting of ministers since Habitat III.

The Declaration also reaffirms the 2030 Agenda. It stresses Goal 11, to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

What did the host minister say?

India’s minister said the three Es of sustainable development are equity, economy and environment. He added a fourth dimension, governance.

UN-Habitat said more than 1,100 Indian participants came, from levels of government, academia and NGOs.

How do the dates fit?

The three dates fall within ten weeks in late 2016. The diagram below puts them in order.

The last conference was held in 2016. This card shows the plans since then. Each line carries its date, because the sources differ.

When was the last conference held?

The 6th conference in New Delhi in December 2016 was the last one held. The chair said so at the Bureau’s online meeting of 7 August 2025, according to the Bureau minutes of 7 August 2025.

The Bureau’s draft minutes of 21 May 2026 say a scheduled Ministerial Conference, not named, could not be convened. They blame unforeseen administrative exigencies, including disruption from COVID-19.

What happened with the 7th conference?

Malaysia planned to host it in Penang.

• 26 March 2025: Malaysia told UN-Habitat’s Executive Board that the 7th would be hosted by Malaysia on 14 to 16 October 2025.
• 6 June 2025: the Tehran Times reported that Iran was invited to the 7th, scheduled for Malaysia later that year.
• 7 August 2025: the Bureau minutes record its support for Malaysia’s offer. They give the proposed theme “Housing as the driver for Sustainable Urban Development”. They record proposed dates of 12 to 14 October 2025, which were being reconsidered.
• 21 May 2026: the draft minutes speak of the next conference as still to come. They say a scheduled conference, not named, could not be convened. They also say hosting arrangements for the forthcoming conference could not be finalised.

ESCAP’s events page lists a Penang conference for 5 to 7 October 2025 under past events. That differs from the Bureau’s minutes. The dates differ across these sources.

So this lesson gives no date for the 7th. As at 21 May 2026 the Bureau says hosting arrangements for the forthcoming conference could not be finalised. It also says a scheduled conference, not named, could not be convened. The next is targeted for 2027.

What comes next?

The Bureau agreed on 21 May 2026 that the next Ministerial Conference should be targeted for 2027. It also agreed to seek formal expressions of interest from member countries. These are draft minutes.

What about Tehran in 2018?

UN-Habitat’s events pages list a “Seventh” APMCHUD in Tehran on 22 to 24 October 2018. A second page lists an APMCHUD in Tehran for April 2019.

The Bureau minutes of 7 August 2025 treat the 2016 conference as the last held. APMCHUD’s own events list for 2018 shows only a Bureau meeting in Kuala Lumpur on 8 February 2018. No source opened for this lesson shows that either Tehran meeting was held. This lesson treats both as planned and not held.

The 2017 Prelims paper had one question on APMCHUD. This card shows the question and the official answer. It then lists the traps.

Which question was it?

How do the statements check out?

• Statement 1 is half right. The first APMCHUD was held in India, in New Delhi in December 2006. But its theme was “A vision for sustainable urbanisation in the Asia-Pacific by 2020”.
• The theme is borrowed. “Emerging urban forms, policy responses and governance structures” belongs to the 6th conference of December 2016.
• Statement 2 is false. The Conference is biennial, not annual. Different countries have hosted. Each host is chosen with the consent of the members. The 2006 Declaration thanks ADB and calls on ASEAN. It does not name APEC.

What are the traps?

1. “Annual.” The Declaration says the Conference shall normally meet every two years.
2. “India hosts all.” India hosted the 1st and the 6th. Four other countries hosted one each.
3. Wrong theme on the right city. The 2006 theme and the 2016 theme were both set in New Delhi.
4. Partner list. The 2006 Declaration names ADB and ASEAN in different roles. APEC is not named.
5. Amman year. The Declaration says 2012. The draft minutes of 2026 say 2013.
6. The 7th conference. Do not call Tehran 2018 the 7th. It was listed, but Bureau minutes treat 2016 as the last held.
7. India’s job. India hosts the Secretariat and chairs the Bureau. It does not host every conference.