Foreign Cooperation Division Head of Bandung Municipal Secretariat, Bariati Ratna Aju, said the convoy, which was led by Mayor Ridwan Kamil, would first visit Mexico to study the operational system of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).
"Bandung wants to understand the road safety system in Mexico City through BRT systems implementation. This system is considered applicable in Bandung," Bariati said in her press statement received by the reporters on Monday.
She stated that Mexico City was considered one of the city that was successful in implementing BRT. During 2005-2010 period, it reduced the travelling time to around 40 percent each, reducing air pollution and emission to more than 142 thousand tons of CO2 per year.
Other than that, Mexico City has managed to lower traffic accidents rate as much as 40 percent and lower the death of victims by 38 percent.
"The mayor was scheduled to be back to Bandung next week," she noted.
After studying in Mexico City, the convoy planned to visit Cuenca in Ecuador for a cultural exchange event called "Little Bandung".
Bariati noted that Cuenca offered various cooperation, since both cities have different characteristics such as the number of heritage buildings, creativity, and waste management.
"The Cuencan government has proposed one place where Little Bandung could be held. It might have a Letter of Intent (LoI) signing, which covers cultural, environmental, and commercial economic aspects," she noted.
Kamil would also attend the invitation for JIDAP, a kind of festival where cultural arts are being exhibited in Cuenca in November this year.
If the cooperation between both countries is already done, it would add to the list of sister cities with friendly countries.
Among them are Seoul and Suwon in South Korea, Kawasaki; Hanamatsu and Toyota City in Japan; Petaling Jaya in Malaysia; Cotabaco in Philippines; and so on.
"Hopefully, the visit to the two South American countries would create good cooperation for Bandung," she added.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
