Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Jakarta provincial government explored a sister city partnership with Shenzhen, China, to advance the development and sustainability of both cities.The initiative was pursued by Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung, who met with Shenzhen Executive Vice Mayor Tao Yongxin in Shenzhen, to discuss a sister city agreement targeted for November 2026.“At present, Jakarta has established sister city partnerships with Beijing and Shanghai. We hope to prepare a Letter of Intent (LoI) as an initial step, to be followed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Shenzhen,” Anung said in his official statement here on Friday.He said the cooperation could strengthen international relations while also serving as a platform for sharing best practices between cities, especially in promoting more advanced and sustainable development.“The Greater Jakarta agglomeration area (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi), which reaches 42 million people, faces challenges that were once experienced by Beijing, such as transportation, congestion, pollution, and flooding. We want to learn from Shenzhen as a role model,” Anung remarked.Meanwhile, Tao Yongxin welcomed the initiative. He even proposed several areas of cooperation considered to have strong potential for development.The four areas include technology and innovation, people-to-people connections, such as student and cultural exchanges, as well as the maritime sector.According to him, Indonesia’s strategic position along global maritime routes adds value to the collaboration.On the other hand, he also highlighted Jakarta’s transportation challenges, with Shenzhen expressing readiness to share its experience through technological cooperation.Tao said that Shenzhen is open to sending its companies to Jakarta, ranging from vehicle electrification and the development of electric vehicle charging infrastructure to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for public services.