TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Governor of Jakarta Anies Baswedan paid a working visit to Japan to meet with his counterpart from Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, to discuss the potential for cooperation in several fields, including for environment-friendly public transportation.

"We discussed many things, especially about the post-pandemic revival efforts, cooperation to build disaster-resistant cities, and environmentally friendly public transportation," Baswedan stated through his official Instagram account @aniesbaswedan on Saturday.

Baswedan posted a picture of the meeting with Koike at the Tokyo City Hall accompanied by several delegates on his personal Instagram account.

However, the governor did not furnish further details on the potential for cooperation between the two cities and the length of his stay in Japan.

However, Baswedan did invite Koike to attend the Urban 20 forum as a G20 side event in Jakarta at the end of August 2022.

"Governor Koike expressed her willingness and confirmation to attend the event in person, along with the leaders of other major world cities," Baswedan stated.

He later noted that Tokyo and Jakarta were sister cities, with longstanding relations. Hence, the meeting offered momentum to demonstrate commitment to intensifying relations between the two metropolitan cities.

Baswedan also recalled his first meeting with Koike in 2017 when he first served as Jakarta governor.

"After that, we met again in 2019 during the Urban 20 Summit in Tokyo. From there, we met through several virtual meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic," he remarked.

During the early period of the pandemic, Baswedan noted that governors and mayors from various countries held virtual meetings on a regular basis to share knowledge and experiences regarding COVID-19 handling.

Governor Koike and Governor Baswedan were also elected in 2019 as co-chairs of the City Forum or C40, an organization of the world's main cities focused on tackling the global climate crisis.

"Hence, communication and cooperation with Governor Koike, so far, have become more intensive," he concluded.

ANTARA

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