To commence the process, City of Darwin and City of Denpasar will sign a Letter of Intent in the coming weeks. It will then take up to two years to become a formal agreement and during this time opportunities will be developed for cultural awareness and tourism, education and training, and economic development.
Lord Mayor Kon Vatskalis said that Council already has six Sister Cities around the globe that share historic, social, cultural and geographical similarities to Darwin.
"We are delighted to be entering into a Sister City relationship with the City of Denpasar. This will be our seventh Sister City.
"It makes a lot of sense for the City of Denpasar to become a Sister City with Council. Darwin is a close neighbour to Bali, where a lot of our local community visit often for cultural and recreational purposes. We have direct flights to and from Denpasar from Darwin airport and we receive many visitors.
"Signing a letter of intent is a great start towards establishing a Sister City relationship with the City of Denpasar.
"Through the educational, cultural, professional, economic and humanitarian exchange, the Sister City relationship with City of Denpasar aims to enhance cross-cultural understanding, create vibrant and connected communities and generate mutual benefits for both cities," said the Lord Mayor.
City of Denpasar Mayor I.G.N. Jayanegara Se said: "I am very pleased that City of Darwin has agreed to become a Sister City with City of Denpasar. I hope that this relationship will bring benefits to both cities. Hopefully, this cooperative relationship will accelerate the economic recovery of the two cities."
Current City of Darwin Sister Cities include Ambon Indonesia, Anchorage USA, Dili Timor Leste, Haikou China, Kalymnos Greece, Milikapiti Northern Territory Australia. Kalymnos was Council's first Sister City, signed in April 1982.
