Twelve leaders of major Asian cities join forces

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Mayors and governors of 12 major cities in Asia attended on Monday in Jakarta the opening of the fourth plenary meeting of the Asian Network of Major Cities 21.

The 21 in the title of the organization refers to the 21st century.

In an effort to strengthen ties between the cities and to enhance cooperation in tackling various urban problems, this year's meeting will follow up on the progress of joint projects agreed upon during the previous three plenary meetings held in Tokyo (2001), Delhi (2002) and Hanoi (2003).

The network, which includes Bangkok, Beijing, Delhi, Hanoi, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo and Yangon, has approved 17 joint projects.

Of these 17 projects, Jakarta is participating in 10. The 10 projects include Asia's Distance Learning Project, the Asian Tourism Campaign, vehicular emissions control, a recycling project, clinical training for HIV/AIDS counselors, an urban development and management project, urban crisis management projects and a business and investment project.

During the meeting on Monday, the forum agreed to two more joint projects: countermeasures to combat infectious diseases in Asia, as proposed by Tokyo, and a youth empowerment program that was proposed by Singapore.

"We deem the new project proposed by the Tokyo administration important and urgent. That is why we approved it," said Sutiyoso, who chaired the session.

Initially, the forum planned to delay the youth empowerment project until the next plenary meeting. However, when Beijing's delegates expressed interest in the project the forum approved it.

Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who officially opened the plenary meeting, emphasized that cooperation between the cities should cover such vital issues as health and security.

He said several major cities in the region had worked together last year to combat the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

"No city can stand alone today without cooperating with other cities," Kalla said.

"We need increased cooperation in a number of areas to speed up the development of our cities by learning from the experiences of other cities," he said.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was originally scheduled to open the meeting, but is in Chile attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

About 100 local companies and 50 foreign companies are expected to take part in the Business and Investment Forum that will be held on Tuesday.

Meeting participants are scheduled to visit state-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia in Bandung, West Java.

Jakarta is also slated on Tuesday to sign a sister city agreement with Hanoi.