Makassar Explores City Partnerships with Japan

RRI.CO.ID, Makassar - The Makassar City Administration in South Sulawesi is expanding its international diplomacy through targeted city-to-city collaboration projects with major Japanese municipalities, following bilateral discussions held at the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia (KBRI) in Tokyo.

During a diplomatic visit on Monday, August 31, 2026, Makassar Deputy Mayor Aliyah Mustika Ilham and a municipal delegation met with Indonesian Deputy Ambassador to Japan Maria Renata Hutagalung. The delegation outlined strategic partnership frameworks spanning waste management, circular economy, flood control, urban transportation, and labor development.

The Tokyo visit precedes Makassar's participation in the Asia-Pacific Circular Cities Forum (APCC) 2026 in Yokohama from September 2–4, 2026, where Makassar, acting as a key Indonesian signatory to the Asian Circular Cities Declaration (ACCD), presents its municipal waste management policies. The city is currently establishing formalized inter-city cooperation with Yokohama (transportation and energy), Kawasaki (water management and flood control), and Maniwa (circular economy and waste processing).

City leaders and diplomatic representatives emphasized that building structured municipal networks with Japanese cities serves to catalyze sustainable infrastructure development and enhance human resource capabilities in Makassar.

Makassar Deputy Mayor Aliyah Mustika Ilham highlighted the necessity of proactively tapping international expertise for regional development. "Various cooperation opportunities that bring tangible benefits to Makassar's development must continue to be explored, these range from environmental protection, transportation, and flood control to economic development and human resource enhancement," Aliyah said in Tokyo on Monday, August 31, 2026, as quoted by Antara.

"Our visit to KBRI Tokyo is a crucial step in strengthening communication and coordination while opening broader networks for the Makassar City Administration to build international partnerships," Aliyah added.

Underscoring the broader scope of municipal interest, she noted additional sectors open for collaboration. "The Makassar City Administration continues to open doors for cooperation across various other sectors, including labor, micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) development, and education," Aliyah remarked. ***