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ATO in Brief
ORGANISATION DES VILLES ARABES (OVA) Arab Towns Organization (ATO) was established in 1967 with its headquarters in Kuwait City. It is an international non-governmental local authority organization specialized in the Arab World's municipal and towns affairs. ATO is a non-political organization and has no ideological affiliations and does not interfere in the political affairs of any country. Membership in ATO is open to all Arab towns through their municipalities. All member towns are equal in their rights and duties irrespective of population, political standing, resources, geographic location or any other considerations. Number of member towns in ATO as of 1999 was in excess of 400 towns. ATO is an intercontinental, multinational organization concerned with developing and raising the standard of local authorities, municipal services and utilities in Arab towns. Moreover, ATO is particularly concerned with the preservation of the character and heritage of the Arab town, through ensuring that development and construction plans take account of its social, economic, environmental and cultural features. ATO also endeavors to develop and improve the skills and capabilities of employees of local authorities, municipalities, and cities as well as promote coordination and cooperation among Arab cities' municipalities to remedy the common problems they encounter. Furthermore, ATO assists member towns financially by means of soft loans to enable them to implement their developmental projects. This is carried out through Arab Towns Development Fund (ATDF), which is among one of ATO's four institutions, namely; Arab Urban Development Institute (AUDI), ATO Award and Arab Cities Environmental Council (ACEC).
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