Melaka Twin Cities 2007

Comparative to most historic cities of the world, the city of Melaka has a story full of pageantry involving people from all over the globe. Its thread in the tapestry of life is interwoven with a kaleidoscope of cultures and boast of. Today, it is precious heritage which has become the state most important assets as it attracts visitors from all over the country as well as from abroad.

The Melaka Historic City Council was declared as the Melaka City on April 15 2003 and covers the whole district of central which have 314 square kilometers of land area. As the most developed local authority in the state, the City Council has assumed the leadership role in devising a comprehensive development plan in its corporate strategy in order to make the city a place where its citizens enjoy a high standard of living and where tourists both local and international can enjoy their visits in a pleasant, clean and beautiful environment.

In promoting city to city strategic partnership, Melaka has established twinning arrangements and cooperation with various cities includes:

• Kuala Lumpur (1984)
• Lisbon, Portugal (1984)
• Hoorn, Netherlands (1989)
• Valparaiso, Chile (1991)
• Nanjing, China (2002)
• Changsa, China (2004) - Friendship City
• Sawahlunto, Indonesia (2004) - Friendship City

The Twin Cities shall focus in the field of tourism which offers the platform to exchange ideas and developing business opportunities between cities. It is a record hard to beat, as in its zenith Tomes Pires, a Portuguese seaman wrote of Melaka describing it as ".....the richest seaport with the greatest number of merchants and abundance of shipping that can be found in the whole world".