DBKL, Addis Ababa City Hall Sign Collaboration Document

From Saraswathi Muniappan

ADDIS ABABA, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) and Addis Ababa City Hall today strengthened ties between the two capitals through the exchange of a collaboration document, providing strategic value to both parties.

“The cooperation formalised today opens new opportunities for Kuala Lumpur to expand its global network, understand development approaches in East Africa, and enhance the city’s technical capacity in line with current needs,” said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha Mustafa.

She made the remarks after the exchange of the collaboration document, which was also witnessed by the Mayor of Addis Ababa, Adanech Abiebie.

In a social media post, Dr Zaliha said the document covered five priority areas: waste management and circular economy; tourism, culture and sports; institutional capacity development; public park management; and flood mitigation and climate resilience.

“These focus areas reflect a shared commitment towards building a more planned, resilient and sustainable city,” she added.

For the Federal Territories, Dr Zaliha said the collaboration aligned with the implementation of the CHASE City vision.

“Technical exchanges with Addis Ababa have the potential to strengthen Kuala Lumpur’s urban development policies, particularly in planning, green spaces, mobility, and adaptation to climate change,” she said.

The initiative, Dr Zaliha added, also provided opportunities for both cities to develop training, knowledge exchange, and joint projects that could enhance Kuala Lumpur’s capacity to tackle global challenges such as urbanisation pressures and the need for more sustainable development.

Dr Zaliha is currently in Addis Ababa accompanying Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on an official visit to the country, which began yesterday.

Ethiopia, the most populous landlocked country in the world, was listed as Malaysia’s 26th largest trading partner in Africa in 2024, and is Anwar’s first stop on his visit to the continent.

From Addis Ababa, the Prime Minister will travel to Johannesburg, South Africa, for a working visit from Nov 20 to 23 to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit. He will then continue his official itinerary in Nairobi, Kenya, from Nov 23 to 24 before returning home.

-- BERNAMA