Asian Network of Major Cities 21

We, the representatives of Bangkok, Beijing, the National Capital Territory of Delhi, the Capital City of Hanoi, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo, have participated in the second ANMC 21 Plenary Meeting, held in Delhi, the capital territory of India. We have conducted fruitful and meaningful discussions concerning the Joint Projects of the ANMC 21, and the problems faced by large cities which are common to all members of the ANMC 21.

We express our sincere gratitude to theNationalCapitalTerritory ofDelhi, which, as the HostCity, has brought the Plenary Meeting to a successful conclusion.

For the future development of the ANMC21, we hereby declare the following:

1. We established the ANMC 21 in Tokyo in October, 2001 with the aim that we major cities, the brains and the hearts of Asia, would strengthen our social and economic ties and collaboration through working together on Joint Projects. Since then, we have worked to implement joint projects and exchange information in a wide range of fields, including promotion of development of Asia made jet passenger planes, economic cooperation, culture, human resource development, issues of gender and urban issues. We have seen steady and positive results.

2. Nevertheless, the major cities of Asia still face many grave issues, such as environmental problems or crisis management during, for example, a disaster. We shall continue to take fresh initiatives under collaboration of the ANMC 21 Member Cities including employing IT extensively to solve these problems. We also agreed to provide training and exchange of knowledge and information and wherever and however it is possible directly with expertise, manpower, machinery and so forth in case any disaster occurs in any of the ANMC 21 Member Cities.

3. In this meeting, we have focused on the urgent common problem of air pollution, and we have held useful discussions and exchanges of information based on the experiences　of each city. We have confirmed that we will take a lead in finding effective solutions　　 to this problem by sharing advanced knowledge and technologies through Joint Projects and information exchange among member cities.

4. Two projects have been decided as new Joint Projects for the ANMC 21: “Network for Crisis Management” and “The Promotion of Asian Business and Investment Project.”

5. As for tourism promotion, it is agreed that each city in the ANMC 21 be encouraged to host at least one major international event each year during its tourist season as a part of the “Welcome to Asia” Campaign. All the other member cities are encouraged to participate in these events.

6. ANMC 21 is anaction-oriented network.We shall make steady progress in implementing the 17 Joint Projects, including the above-mentioned two new Joint Projects, outlined in the Annexture.

7. The third ANMC 21 Plenary Meeting shall be held in theCapitalCity ofHanoi at an appropriate date in 2003.