Asian mayors agree to improve cooperation

The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

Mayors from four Asian countries signed a joint agreement in Surabaya on Saturday in a bid to improve cooperation in various sectors.

The agreement, reached during the 2005 Surabaya Counterparts Forum, was signed by Lee Kyu Hwan of Busan, Korea; Zhang Changping of Xiamen, China and Li Zhizhen of Guangzhou, China; Eva Aguirre Paz of Marikina in the Philippines, as well as Chusnul Arifien Damuri, the acting Surabaya mayor.

Chusnul said the agreement was aimed at strengthening the relationship between cities in eastern Asia so they could work together to improve people's lives.

"The point of this agreement is intended to improve people's welfare as the mayors share experiences in development planning," Chusnul said.

Three points of agreement were reached in the meeting, including cooperation on culture, development, education, environment, science, sports and tourism.

Apart from improving cooperation, the agreement was also aimed at improving participation among community members, businesspeople and non-governmental organizations involved in development.

Surabaya's Counterparts Forum was also attended by representatives from several cities in the country, including Bali, Banjarmasin, Gorontalo, Jakarta and Yogyakarta.

Busan Mayor Lee Kyu Hwan said that cooperation between his country and Indonesia had been going on for decades.

"When Jakarta and Seoul have good relationship, we also want the same thing between Surabaya and Busan," he told Antara.

Meanwhile, Guangzhou mayor Li Zhizhen expressed readiness to make Surabaya its sister city, while Xiamen mayor Zhang Cangping expressed optimism that the two city's historical connections, highlighted by Chinese people from the Xiamen area who migrated to eastern Java, including Surabaya, would ensure close cooperation.