Sister city plans in the works with Moscow
Jakarta’s governor will sign a two-year sister-city program with the mayor of Moscow, Russia, in the hopes of learning more about that city’s disaster management and heritage conservation, just to name a few common issues.
“We will sign the 2009-2010 program on Oct. 3, 2008, in Moscow,” Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo said Wednesday after a meeting with Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Aleksandr Ivanov.
The cooperation will span several common interests: disaster management, heritage conservation policy, tourism and education for talented athletes.
Fauzi said the administration wanted to learn Moscow’s methods for mitigating disasters — such as flooding, large-scale fires, plane crashes, earthquakes and riots — as well as how regulatory frameworks were applied in these areas.
“Moscow has many historical buildings which are excellently conserved because the city has strict regulations on their cultural and historical legacy and use.
“I would like to see whether we can put similar regulations into effect here,” Fauzi said.
Fauzi added the program would involve not only study tours but also trainings and invitations to Russian experts on disaster management and heritage conservation to teach in Jakarta.
The governor said Indonesia received 80,000 Russian tourists every year. “The growing figures show their deep interest in knowing more about Indonesian culture, especially Jakarta’s native culture, Betawi.”
“We plan to hold a special event to promote Betawi culture in Moscow in September next year in conjunction with Moscow Day festivities there.”
Education for Indonesian young athletic talents is also part of the sister-city program.
Fauzi pointed out the recently renovated Bung Karno sports stadium in Central Jakarta was modeled after Moscow’s Luzhniki sports stadium.
“I am also planning to renovate the rooms available in Bung Karno stadium,” he said.
Earlier in June Fauzi signed an agreement with the mayor of Rotterdam, the Netherlands to set up a sister-city program including flood mitigation.
Jakarta has several other sister cities including Bangkok in Thailand, Beijing in China, Berlin in Germany, Istanbul in Turkey, Los Angeles in the United States, Seoul in South Korea, Sydney in Australia and Tokyo in Japan. – JP/Agnes Winarti
Source: The Jakarta Post
Add comment September 19th, 2008