Asian Network of Major Cities 21

We, the representatives of Bangkok, Delhi, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Metropolitan Manila, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo have participated in the 6th Plenary Meeting of ANMC21 held in Metropolitan Manila from November 25 to 28, 2007 to forge stronger and closer links and cooperation among capital and major cities of the Asian region.

We avail ourselves of this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to the Metropolitan Manila government who exerted great effort to make the 6th Plenary Meeting a resounding success.

Consistent with our strong commitment to the objectives of ANMC 21 and in pursuit of our vision for an economically and environmentally sustainable network of capital and major cities in Asia, we hereby declare that:

1. During the six years since the establishment of the ANMC 21 we have produced steady results through implementation of joint projects including the promotion of development of a small to medium-sized jet passenger plane and the project for countermeasures to combat infectious diseases in Asia.

This time, a "Review of the Joint Projects" is being done to determine the accomplishments/status of these projects and to summarize initiatives and directions to be taken from now on. Based on the outcome of this review, we have agreed to cooperate in the promotion and advancement of these joint projects by rebuilding them and at the same time launching a new one called "Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Initiatives for Urban Development."

2. We concurred that "urbanidad" (urbanity) is an important concern in the urban development process. It is a vital trait that every city dweller must possess to maintain peace, order and harmony amidst cultural diversity. For while the expression and observance of one's unique ethnic and cultural tradition may be expressed freely, these are practiced with due consideration for others. In view of the foregoing, we commit ourselves to implement strategies and approaches in promoting and preserving urbanity and the good traditional values focusing on respect, obedience and discipline among our respective citizenry, and to remove cultural prejudices and maintain harmony in the cities.

3. We consider global warming as a serious environmental concern as it threatens nature and the survival of humankind. It is then important for all the cities of Asia to achieve both economic growth and energy conservation and at the same time have a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature.

For this reason, we have agreed to work together to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases through development and promotion of forefront technologies including energy-saving facilities and bio-fuels to address the concerns on global warming, so that we may leave a vibrant and healthy global environment to future generations.

The ANMC21 will hold the "Working Level Conference on Environmental Technology" in February 2008 in Tokyo to form initiatives to be taken by the joint project, "Urban and Global Environmental Problems."

4. As Asian cities continue to grow and while we continue to seek strategies to address the various urban problems caused by the dramatic increase in the scale of our cities’ development, we reaffirm our strong commitment to foster closer ties between and among member-cities and vow to jointly tackle common urban challenges that we are faced with in pursuit of our vision to build efficient and productive world-class cities with strong economies that will significantly contribute to the social and economic development of Asia, thus enhancing its important role in the international community of nations.

5. We have agreed to consider the design and development of an affordable mass housing, applying advance technologies that can address the housing backlogs that will meet the objective of eradicating poverty in Asian cities. This proposal shall be given priority in the next working level discussion.

6. The 7th Plenary Meeting of ANMC21 will be held in Kuala Lumpur in November 2008.