VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - The Nusantara Capital City Authority (OIKN) is exploring cooperation opportunities with Shenzhen city, People's Republic of China, to realize the vision of developing the new Indonesian capital (IKN) as a smart city.

"In order to realize the vision of building a smart and sustainable forest city, IKN continues to learn and absorb knowledge from the experiences of advanced cities in the world," OIKN head Bambang Susantono said in a statement released in Jakarta on Saturday.

Susantono lauded the remarkable transformation that has been carried out in the past four decades by Shenzhen — a city that has become a reference for the planning and development of several cities.

"The government can take notes from the 40 years of experience of Shenzhen in terms of planning and development processes to develop Nusantara, which is currently undergoing the initial phase of development," he said.

Earlier on July 27, 2023, Indonesian President Joko Widodo met with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Chengdu, China, with both countries inking eight agreements, including a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the transfer of knowledge and experience for the development of IKN.

The MoU was signed by Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, and Susantono on behalf of the Indonesian government on the sidelines of the meeting.

At the MoU signing, the Chinese government was represented by head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Zheng Shanjie, and Shenzhen Mayor Qin Weizhong.

As a follow-up to the bilateral meeting, Susantono on Saturday met with Mayor Qin to explore ways to implement concrete actions under the cooperation agreement forged earlier by the governments of Indonesia and China.

The OIKN head also met with the representatives of the Urban Planning and Design Institute of Shenzhen (UPDIS), which has taken an active role in the city's development process.

Susantono also visited the command center in Shenzhen, where he got the opportunity to witness the implementation of several latest smart city-related technologies developed in the city.

During his meeting with Susantono, Qin shared his experience in developing Shenzhen, which has successfully transformed from a small town to a metropolis in 40 years.

At present, Shenzhen is one of the 10 global financial centers, one of China's best smart cities, and a reference for the development of other cities in the world. Based on the city's success, the mayor offered his support for the construction and development of IKN.

Susantono welcomed the offer, saying that OIKN is always open to experience exchange activities and cooperation schemes, including investment. (Antaranews)