Indonesia strengthens smart city partnerships

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia, as the ASEAN Smart City Network (ASCN) shepherd, has strengthened partnerships across stakeholders, including the community, to realize smart, resilient, and sustainable cities."Collaboration involving the public and private sectors, as the wider stakeholders, through ASCN and other relevant platforms can bring better solutions for smart city development," the Home Ministry's director general of regional administration development, Amran, said, according to a press statement issued here on Friday.

"Collaboration involving the public and private sectors, as the wider stakeholders, through ASCN and other relevant platforms can bring better solutions for smart city development," the Home Ministry's director general of regional administration development, Amran, said, according to a press statement issued here on Friday.

He made the remarks at the 7th Annual Meeting of ASCN in Luang Prabang, Laos, on Wednesday. The meeting aimed to increase awareness about and understanding of smart and sustainable urban initiatives. It served as a platform for ASEAN countries to exchange and discuss good practices and lessons from implementing smart solutions to solve urban problems.

"Since its establishment, ASCN has grown rapidly with around 50 projects and 40 partnerships to provide support, capacity building, knowledge sharing, and technical assistance," Amran noted.

As one of the ASCN shepherds, Indonesia intends to encourage the development of smart, sustainable, and resilient cities. Indonesia has been contributing to efforts to improve ASEAN connectivity and resilience amid the current global geopolitical and geoeconomic dynamics.

Representatives from some district/city governments from Indonesia also served as speakers at the ASCN conference. For example, Makassar city, which is a part of the ASCN cities, showcased its "Lorong Wisata" or the Tourism Tunnel program, which has 21 focuses, including food security, inflation control, circular economy, urban farming, city garden, social mitigation, and new tourist destinations.

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It also includes a program for developing micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by involving and empowering the community. Meanwhile, Banyuwangi district from East Java shared details on the Smart Kampung (Village) program that is supported by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transports and Tourism.

The district also made a presentation on apps developed by it, such as the Road Manager, which helps users check road conditions with artificial intelligence (AI) support; and Bike Sharing, which is a map service for cycling routes to Banyuwangi's tourist destinations.