ASEAN Mayors Issue Five Recommendations

Makassar, S Sulawesi (Antara Bali) - The ASEAN Mayors Forum (AMF) agreed to five recommendations on the second day of the forum's meeting in the South Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar on Wednesday.

"On the second day of the meeting we issue five recommendations as common agreement. To strengthen the agreement we have signed an inscription on a marble weighing 18 tons," Makassar Mayor Moh Ramdhan Pomanto said here on Wednesday.

The five recommendations are related to; first, support for the ASEAN community's effort to promote the welfare of ASEAN people; second, wish to make ASEAN a regional, national and local force rooted from each city in the region; third, the pillar of ASEAN community which must be found in cities; fourth, proposal to set up an ASEAN Secretariat in Makassar; and fifth, proposal to form special institutes of higher learning of ASEAN standard.

Secretary General of United Cities and Local Government Asia Pacific (UCLG-ASPAC) Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi said the meeting has come up with recommendations for the better local governments.

"The presence of local governments has made the ASEAN Community aware of various problems particularly those related to infrastructure development and human resource development in the face of AEC (ASEAN Economic Community)," she said. (WDY)