Councilors on trip to Berlin

JAKARTA (JP): Nine members of the City Council's Commission D for development affairs are on a four-day study trip to Berlin, Germany.

Head of the commission, Lukman F. Mokoginta, said their observations specifically include public transport, city economics and drinking water management.

"The visit is a follow-up to a sister city agreement between Jakarta and Berlin on April 13, 1994," Lukman said in a quote by Antara new agency on Tuesday.

Paris and London are also on the councilors' itinerary.

Lukman said what was interesting was how people of the former two Germanys were being united by "loving" their capital. Berlin, formerly divided into West and East Berlin, is now the capital of the Federal Republic of Germany.

He said the unification of the city involved bringing together different social groups and differences in city management such as in housing, transportation, drinking water and waste management.

"Efforts in overcoming undesired results of the union of the two Berlins...could be comparative material in building Jakarta," Antara reported.

Jakarta's community also has a wide diversity in culture, Lukman said.

"We also have vulnerable areas that need the right approach to unify our community," Lukman was quoted as saying.

Councilors have also been scheduled to visit an ongoing exhibition of Berlin in the year 2000. (anr)