Bengkulu (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s Regional Representative Council (DPD) Speaker Sultan B. Najamudin proposed making Bengkulu and London sister cities, using the Indonesian province’s British colonial history to promote tourism, cultural ties and regional economic growth.“I met with my old friend, the Bengkulu mayor. We have long discussed how Bengkulu can use its history of British rule. We will connect London and Bengkulu as sister cities,” Najamudin said Wednesday.Najamudin made the proposal after meeting Bengkulu Mayor Dedy Wahyudi and city government officials at the Merah Putih Building on Tuesday.Bengkulu’s historical ties with Britain offer significant potential to promote the region and develop history-based tourism centered on British heritage sites, he said.Najamudin expressed confidence that the sister-city initiative could be realized and said he had contacted Britain’s ambassador to Indonesia to facilitate a meeting with the mayor.The meeting with British representatives would introduce Bengkulu’s surviving British heritage sites and explore possible cooperation between the two cities, he said.“The visit will be an initial step toward a sister-city framework that could open opportunities for cooperation in tourism, education, culture and investment,” Najamudin said.He also proposed developing a tourism calendar centered on British history to attract foreign visitors, particularly Britons and their descendants, to Bengkulu.“In the future, we will invite Britons and their descendants to visit Bengkulu, explore its British heritage sites and rediscover our long history of relations,” Najamudin said.