Jakarta and Guangdong Discuss Potential for Strengthening Economic Cooperation
The Jakarta Provincial Government and Guangdong Province, represented by Meng Fanli, met in Guangzhou, China, to discuss the potential for strengthening cooperation that could provide concrete benefits for economic development, trade, the business world, and the capacity building of MSMEs.
“Inter-regional collaboration is expected to create space for the exchange of knowledge, technology, business sector management experience, as well as opportunities for mutually beneficial investment and partnerships,” said the Head of the Industry, Trade, Cooperatives, Small and Medium Enterprises (PPKUKM) Department of Jakarta Province, Elisabeth Ratu Rante Allo, in a written statement in Jakarta on Saturday.
The discussions took place during a meeting between the Minister of MSMEs of the Republic of Indonesia, Maman Abdurrahman, and the Governor of Guangdong Province, Meng Fanli, in Guangzhou, China. The meeting was also attended by the Chairman of the Asian Trade, Tourism, and Economics Council (ATTEC), Budihardjo Iduansjah, along with business delegates and executives.
In addition to strengthening economic and MSME cooperation, she noted that the meeting was also part of an exploration into collaboration regarding urban infrastructure management, particularly in the water sector.
Ratu explained that Jakarta is currently entering a phase of urban water management transformation, with water management and flood control being among Jakarta’s primary transformation agendas.
In this context, the Jakarta Provincial Government sees opportunities for cooperation based on technology and knowledge transfer, including the modernisation of water services, the implementation of smart metering, improving service quality and reliability, and efforts to reduce non-revenue water (NRW).
“Jakarta’s connection with international partners such as Guangdong is expected not to end with this meeting, but to be followed up through concrete cooperation that provides added value for the community and the business world,” she said.
She expressed hope that future cooperation explorations could continue through technical discussions between parties, including between Jakarta’s regional water companies (BUMD) and the Guangzhou Water Group, as an initial step to explore opportunities for knowledge exchange and field collaboration.
“Jakarta is open to collaborations that can strengthen capacity, technology, and competitiveness. The most important thing is how this relationship can be translated into concrete cooperation that benefits the people of Jakarta and business actors,” Ratu concluded.