The similarities between Kyoto and Varanasi and the probable areas of collaboration between the two cities were discussed in detail on Tuesday at the first meeting of the Steering Committee on Kyoto-Varanasi Cooperation.
The meeting was chaired by Shankar Aggarwal, Urban Development Secretary, who is also the chairman of the Steering Committee set up to operationalise the agreement on Sister City Cooperation signed during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Japan last year.
Praveen Prakash, Joint Secretary, Urban Development Ministry made a presentation highlighting the similarities between Kyoto and Varanasi and the possibilities of sharing the experiences of Kyoto in emerging as the top ranked city in the world in the domain of leisure and tourism with development strategies centered around conserving its rich culture heritage, said a statement from the Urban Development Ministry.
The similarities included: both cities are of tourism importance with Kyoto attracting about 50 million tourists every year and Varanasi receiving about 5 million visitors; three rivers flow through both the cities; both are locations of rich cultural heritage with Kyoto being known as the city of 1,000 shrines and Varanasi as the temple town.