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, Metropolitan Manila, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo and Yangon, have participated in the 4th Plenary Meeting of ANMC21, organized in Jakarta, the Capital City of the Republic of Indonesia from November 21 to 24, 2004. We have had open and friendly discussions on the joint projects of the ANMC21, and the common issues and problems encountered by major Asian cities.
We extend our thanks and gratitude to Jakarta Provincial Government as the host for its efforts in making this meeting successful.

At the closing ceremony of the 4th Plenary Meeting of the ANMC21 we have agreed to approve a declaration that shall be called “The Jakarta Declaration,” bearing consensus, hope and determination on what we will do in the future to enhance our joint endeavors for cooperation among the major cities in Asia as follows:

1. We, as major cities in Asia, agree to work together to tackle the issues that major cities share in common to strengthen the identity of Asia and to increase the importance of the role of Asia in the international community by improving the bonds and cooperation among the cities of Asia, based on the principles of the ANMC21 agreed in Tokyo in 2001.

2. During the three years since the establishment of the ANMC21 we have produced steady results in various fields, including the promotion of development of an Asian-made small- to medium-sized passenger jet plane, artistic and cultural exchanges, the promotion of tourism, the development of human resources and crisis management. We agree to continue to search for appropriate ways to consolidate the bonds among the member cities, such as cooperating with other organizations, in order to obtain the best possible results from the implementation of joint projects, including new joint projects determined in this Plenary Meeting such as “Youth to Youth Program?Creating Enterprising Originals.”

3. Through the exchange of ideas on the efforts to tackle contagious diseases, we have all appreciated the serious consequences that contagious diseases can have on the economies and societies of Asia. We therefore agree to work to prevent and control the spread of contagious diseases in Asia by cooperation and collaboration among the member cities, through the implementation of a new joint project “Countermeasures to Combat Infectious Diseases in Asia” which aims at immediate information exchanges, joint research on effective measures, etc.

4. We are aware that each city in Asia has a different level of science and technology relating to urban development and management. This situation directly affects the welfare of people in each respective city. For this reason, through discussions on the exchange of technology, culture and human resources, we agree to encourage cooperation and exchange activities in various fields, including human resource development, transfer of technology, culture and tourism through mutual visits for the purpose of deepening friendship and mutual understanding among the members cities and improving the welfare of people in Asia.

5. The threat of terrorism in major cities in Asia has not decreased. The terrorist attack in some cities in Asia in the last few years caused tremendous loss of life and damages to properties. We agree to further strengthen measures against terrorism through the joint project “Network for Crisis Management.”

6. The 5th Plenary Meeting of ANMC21 shall be held in Beijing in 2005 and Taipei will be given the priority to hold the 6th Plenary Meeting of ANMC21 in 2006.