"Both the government and the parliament play an important role..."London (ANTARA News) - Indonesia has called on all Asia-Pacific countries to step up cooperation in exchanging experience, knowledge and expertise so they can deal with a wide range of urban issues, particularly over-urbanization.
"Indonesia made the call during the Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Housing and Development (APMCHUD), held as a side event at the 6th World Urban Forum (WUF) in Napoli, Italy, from September 1-6," said Musurifun Lajawa, a spokesman of the Indonesian Embassy in Rome, in an e-mailed statement to an ANTARA Newscorrespondent based in London on Wednesday.
"The Indonesian delegation to the meeting, consisting of government officials and lawmakers, took active part in the ministerial round-table meeting and the Global Parliamentarian on Habitat round-table meeting, along with other events," he added.
In order to tackle uncontrolled urbanization, Musurifun stated, the Indonesian delegation at the meeting underscored the need to adopt a strategy that involves empowering cities through development programmes and encouraging local governments to take active part in developing their respective regions.
"Both the government and the parliament play an important role in ensuring the success of the efforts to overcome urbanization problems," he said.
"Therefore, the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) has committed itself to support the government`s policy in developing regions outside the overcrowded Java island, as part of efforts to address over-urbanization," Musurifun explained.
Sponsored by the UN-Habitat based in Nairobi, Kenya, the 6th WUF was attended by 10,000 people from 150 countries.
(T.H-ZG/INE/KR-BSR/F001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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