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Nusantara and Kazakhstani capital declared sister cities
Indonesia's new capital Nusantara and Kazakhstan's capital Astana have been declared sister cities under a cooperation agreement signed between the two cities' leaders on Monday in Astana.
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Indonesian Ambassador to Kazhakstan Fadjroel Rachman (second left) and Nusantara Capital City (IKN) Authority head Bambang Susantono (second right) pose for a group photograph during an investment forum for the new Indonesian capital on July 5, 2023 in Astana, Kazakhstan. (The Jakarta Post/Kemlu.go.id)
T
he Nusantara Capital City (IKN) Authority has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Astana administration to allow for future collaboration on urban development, infrastructure and other projects.
Head of IKN Authority Bambang Susantono traveled to Kazakhstan early this week to sign the MoU with Astana Mayor Zhenis Kassymbek at a ceremony on Monday, during which the two officials also declared Nusantara and Astana as sister cities.
Indonesian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Fadjroel Rachman said the agreement was a high-water mark in the two countries’ diplomatic relationship, which marked its 30th anniversary this year.
"Thank you to everyone who has worked tirelessly, including Astana Mayor Zhenis Kassymbek, [...] who has been effective in realizing the Nusantara-Astana sister city collaboration plan," Fadjroel said in a statement.
Astana became the capital of Kazakhstan in 1997, when then-president Nursultan Nazarbayev decided to relocate the country’s administrate center from Almaty, now a business and cultural hub.
The move was widely questioned at the time because of Astana’s relative isolation in the northern steppes and its notoriously frigid winters, during which temperatures could plunge as low as minus 51 degrees Celsius.
During his trip to the Kazakhstani capital, Bambang also met with a number of senior officials and was briefed on Astana’s sustainable development, including from chief architect Amanzhol Chikanayev, the Indonesian Embassy said in a statement.
At a separate event held in Astana on Wednesday titled “Investing in Indonesia’s Future Capital: Smart and Sustainable Forest City Nusantara”, Bambang made a sales pitch to local investors on opportunities in Nusantara, which he billed as a green and sustainable urban complex.
