T

he Jakarta administration is set to increase cooperation with the Egyptian capital, Cairo, the two sides having signed a letter of intent to begin cooperation as sister cities at City Hall in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Egyptian Ambassador to Indonesia Bahaa El Deen Bahgat Ibrahim Dessouki said that like Jakarta, his country'€™s capital suffered from congestion largely caused by daily influxes of commuters from satellite cities. Cairo'€™s population increased from 14 million at night to 17 million in the afternoon, and some households owned up to six cars, Dessouki explained.

'€œJakarta and Cairo are very similar, so we can discuss and share our experience and strive to overcome these challenges,'€ he said after the signing.

Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama added that Jakarta would look to cooperate with the Cairo administration in areas including urban planning and education.

'€œI hope I can visit Cairo one day as well to maintain our sister city program,'€ Ahok said.