The cooperation will be carried out through the signing of a minutes of agreement (MoA) between Jakarta and Rotterdam by Acting Jakarta Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat and Mayor of Rotterdam Ahmed Aboutaleb at the Jakarta City Hall on Monday.
"Jakarta and Rotterdam have been working together in the sister city cooperation since 1986, and the signing of the MoA aims to strengthen the cooperation," Hidayat remarked.
He noted that the cooperation to develop Jakarta Bay covers three important aspects: water management, port development, and the National Capital Integrated Coastal Development project.
"Hence, overall, this cooperation offers a strong foundation for exchanging knowledge and experiences between Jakarta and Rotterdam in the context of developing Jakarta Bay," Hidayat remarked.
In the meantime, Rotterdam Mayor Aboutaleb revealed that it is the right time for Rotterdam and Jakarta to share experiences and knowledge.
"Jakarta and Rotterdam actually have identical problems, although both have different areas and populations. Hence, we can exchange experiences and knowledge," Aboutaleb stated.
Earlier in 2014, the city administrations of Jakarta and Rotterdam had strengthened ties in the field of urban water management through a Dutch training program.
The program was managed by Dutch educational institution Nuffic Neso Indonesia and was part of the implementation of a sister city agreement signed by Aboutaleb and the then president-elect and Jakarta governor Joko Widodo.
Through the agreement, at the time, Rotterdam and Jakarta would work together to integrate urban water management, including capacity development and knowledge exchange.
The program focused on integrated urban water management and offered an opportunity to the employees of the Jakarta city administration to learn about water management for three months.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
