BMA, TMG sign joint communique to tackle city challenges

(February 6, 2025) Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) signed a joint communique to overcome challenges in both capital cities.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt welcomed Koike Yuriko, Governor of Tokyo, and her 25 delegations at the Bangkok City Hall (Sao Chingcha) in Phra Nakhon district.

BMA executives and relevant officials attended the signing ceremony in the Rattanakosin Room.

Bangkok and Tokyo governors have exchanged ideas and discussed several collaborations in tackling challenges of natural disaster response due to climate change, city management amid an aged society and low birth rate, sustainable tourism policies and innovation for future city development.

Governor Chadchart also took this opportunity to give the Key to the City of Bangkok to Governor Koike.

Both BMA and TMG have agreed to cooperate to tackle several city issues and create innovation to enhance livability in both capitals, leading to more sustainable cities in the future. 

They also endorsed guidelines for tackling each other’s issues with mutual respect and pledged to cooperate on global urban challenges for the maximum benefits of residents.

Strengthening Collaboration Between BMA and TMG

Chadchart hopes that the BMA-TMG joint communique will further strengthen relationships and collaboration in several dimensions.

“Bangkok and Tokyo have enjoyed strong partnership and collaborated on several issues for a long time,” Chadchart said, vowing to use knowledge to improve Bangkok further to make the capital liveable for everyone.

He confirmed that knowledge from Tokyo has been applied to address issues in Bangkok, such as improving the water drainage system, implementing measures to encourage childbirth and creating jobs for the elderly.

Chadchart also emphasised that public awareness and suitable technology are key to drive Bangkok towards sustainability. Knowledge exchange will enable Bangkok and Tokyo to address several urban challenges effectively.

In terms of sustainable tourism, he said Bangkok would adopt Tokyo’s knowledge in promoting community identity to boost local income. 
“I believe that Tokyo has done well in this field, which leads to sustainable tourism and generates income for locals,” he added.

Chadchart also noted that Bangkok will host the Resilient City Network meeting on crisis management in May this year, explaining that both Bangkok and Tokyo are members of this network.

He pledged to work closely with TMG, the network’s secretariat, to ensure the meeting progress and boost the potential of crisis management in cities across Asia and other regions.




Importance of knowledge sharing

Meanwhile, Koike emphasised the importance of knowledge sharing to promote sustainable tourism, vowing to strengthen collaboration in developing the tourism industry in Bangkok and Tokyo.

She noted that Bangkok and Tokyo have performed well in post Covid-19 tourism recovery and added that Tokyo could learn from Bangkok’s night economy to boost tourism growth.

Koike highlighted ongoing collaboration between Bangkok and Tokyo, including the SusHi Tech Tokyo project for technology-driven sustainable cities, and measures to address population decline. 

She said Tokyo can share knowledge on enabling Bangkokians to cope with natural disasters. TMG’s Network for Crisis Management, which deals with terrorism, could serve as platform for further cooperation between Tokyo and TMG’s visit to Bangkok.

The Tokyo governor and her delegates were scheduled to visit Bangkok on February 5-7 to meet with the Bangkok governor, sign a joint communique between TMG and BMA, and discuss collaboration between the two cities.

The delegates from TMG were also scheduled to visit Benjakitti Park, a green space in the heart of Bangkok’s Khlong Toei district and observe the capital’s water management at Phra Khanong Pumping Station.

Benjakitti Park was built to commemorate Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, The Queen Mother’s fifth cycle birthday in 1992. The public park’s name was bestowed by the Queen Mother in 1994.

The park covers around 450 rai (72 hectares) land formerly owned by the Tobacco Authority of Thailand. It features a water park designed to address flooding in the capital, and a forest park with various rare tree species, allowing visitors to study nature in each season.

Other facilities include elevated walkways, cycle paths, a large outdoor exercise area, an indoor sports complex, a rice field demonstration, a dog park and a museum. Benjakitti Park was awarded Landscape of the Year 2023 at the World Architecture Festival 2023.

The Phra Khanong Pumping Station is the largest pumping station in Bangkok which takes a pivotal role in draining floodwater from the capital into the Chao Phraya River.

The station is responsible for pumping, draining and controlling the water level in Phra Khanong Canal, which links to other three canals: Prawet, Saen Saep and Lat Phrao.

Its area of responsibility covers approximately 360 square kilometres, including Phra Khanong, Bueng Kum, Watthana, Khlong Toei, Min Buri, Nong Chok, Prawet, Lat Krabang, Huai Khwang and Lat Phrao districts. 


Tokyo governor’s profile

Yuriko Koike (72) was born on July 15, 1952 in Ashiya city in Hyogo prefecture. She graduated with a bachelor degree in sociology from Cairo University in Egypt in 1976.

Koike was elected Tokyo governor in 2016, becoming the metropolis’ first female governor. Koike was re-elected in 2020 and again 2024.
Previously, she held several positions in the Japanese government, including:


Director of the House of Representatives’ Budget Committee (October 2011)
Chairperson of the Liberal Democratic Party General Council (September 2010)
Defence Minister (July 2007) 
Special adviser to the Prime Minister for National Security Affairs (September 2006) 
Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs (September 2004)
Environment Minister (September 2003)


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(2025/02/26-00:00)