Meeting Ho Chi Minh City Delegation, City Secretary Discusses Potential Cooperation at ASEAN Summit 2023

City Secretary, Joko Agus Setyono received a visit from the the People's Committee Deputy Chairman for Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Bui Xuan Cuong, together with the Indonesian Consul General for Ho Chi Minh City, Agustaviano Sofjan, and 16 delegates from various agencies under Ho Chi Minh City administration, at Jakarta City Hall, Tuesday (9/5).

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According to him, the meeting discussed the potential for sister city cooperation between Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City in the fields of transportation and tourism.

"Thus far, Jakarta is in the process of meeting the challenges of becoming a global city and becoming a business city. Jakarta is very open to receiving further Ho Chi Minh City cooperation opportunities in the form of more intensive sister city cooperation between cities, and is very supportive if Ho Chi Minh City is interested in conducting comparative studies related to transportation and mitigating environmental issues," he expressed, in the Jakarta Government's press release, Wednesday (9/6).

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He hoped that today's meeting could be followed up by developing cooperation and creating good synergy, which aimes to provide significant benefits for the people in both cities.

Aside that, Jakarta Regional Cooperation Bureau Head, Marulina Dewi  added that Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta have many similar characteristics. It certainly made Ho Chi Minh City a prospective cooperation partner, especially in realizing Jakarta to become a Global City and an economic driver in the ASEAN region.

As for partnerships in the transportation sector, MRT Jakarta already has a personnel training collaboration with Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railways No. 1 Company Limited (HURC 1), as the manager of HCM Metro. In the future, this cooperation would be expanded and strengthened.

"The tourism potential between the two cities is also very worth exploring. In this case, there are already supporting factors, namely direct flights from VietJet airline from Ho Chi Minh City to Jakarta, a visa-free policy for the ASEAN region, and an extension of the stay for tourists from both countries to 45-90 days. Hooefully, in the future, this ease of travel can support an increase in the volume of trade, business and investment between the two cities," she explained.

Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Deputy Chairman, Bui Xuan Cuong said his visit is part of a series of overseas working visits carried out in parallel with Ho Chi Minh City's participation in the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ABIS). During the visit, the Ho Chi Minh City delegation also expressed their appreciation for the smooth road conditions and good spatial planning of Jakarta.

As a business city and the largest city in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City is currently carrying out reform efforts on the public transportation system.

"We digitize and simplify city service management, and develop strategies to attract investors and partners. We hope to continue our good cooperation with Jakarta," he explained.

Responding on this matter, Indonesian Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City, Agustaviano Sofjan uttered the two cities have experienced very rapid economic growth in recent times.

"With the completion of a decade of strategic partnership between Indonesia and Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City hopes to strengthen relations with Jakarta, both in the form of G2G (Government to Government), B2B (Business to Business) and P2P (People to People) partnerships," he stated.

As for the information, the meeting was also attended by Jakarta Development and Environment Assistant, Afan Adriansyah; representatives from various regional apparatus organizations (OPDs); PT MRT Jakarta; and PT Transjakarta.