Prime Minister attends Summit to celebrate 50 years of ASEAN-Japan relations

VTC NewsVTC News17/12/2023


On December 17, in Tokyo, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and leaders of ASEAN countries and Japan attended the Summit to celebrate the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Japan relations.

ASEAN leaders affirmed their importance to the solidarity and cooperation relationship with Japan, ASEAN's oldest and most reliable partner, contributing to the development of each side as well as peace, stability and prosperity of the entire region.

After 50 years of continuous consolidation and development, ASEAN-Japan cooperation has now expanded to all areas and the two sides upgraded their relationship to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in September 2023. Notably, the total two-way trade turnover between ASEAN and Japan reached 268.5 billion USD, and investment capital reached 26.7 billion USD in 2023.

Many activities of exchange, culture, support for ASEAN to narrow the development gap and develop sub-regions... have been strongly implemented, contributing to firmly consolidating the connection between the two sides.

Conference overview.

Conference overview.

Looking to the future, the two sides agreed to develop the relationship substantially and effectively, commensurate with the stature of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, bringing practical benefits to the people.

The two sides agreed to make efforts to maintain and promote trade and investment exchanges, stabilize production and supply chains in the region, and facilitate exports to each other's markets. At the same time, ASEAN and Japan will further promote new areas of cooperation with great potential such as green economy, digital economy, and circular economy.

The Leaders also pledged to strengthen cooperation in many areas, specifically people-to-people exchange, tourism cooperation, innovation, digital transformation, energy, disaster management, climate change response, maritime security, counter-terrorism and transnational crime, etc.

ASEAN leaders welcomed Japan's consideration of ASEAN as one of its foreign policy priorities in general and Japan's Indo-Pacific Strategy (FOIP) in particular; committed to continuing to support and assist ASEAN in building the Community and promoting its central role in the region.

On this occasion, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio announced a support package worth 40 billion Yen for people-to-people exchanges, cultural and educational cooperation and 15 billion Yen for international research staff exchange programs (following an additional contribution of 14.2 billion Yen to the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) announced earlier this year).

Delegates at the conference discussed a number of international and regional issues of mutual concern. The countries said that in the context of complexity, instability, and increasing conflicts, countries in the region need to strengthen cooperation to maintain a peaceful and stable environment for development, promote a culture of dialogue, and peacefully resolve disputes, including those in the East Sea, on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Attending the Conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highlighted the historical significance of the Conference, highly appreciating the spirit of solidarity and cooperation between ASEAN and Japan, especially during difficult times such as the 1997-1998 Asian financial-monetary crisis, COVID-19, or natural disasters in each region.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the relationship with Japan is one of ASEAN's most successful relationships, and suggested that in the context of the world and the region experiencing many "headwinds" with many unprecedented challenges, the two sides need to strengthen cooperation and strive to turn the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership into a symbol of solidarity and international cooperation.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attends the Summit to celebrate 50 years of ASEAN-Japan relations.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attends the Summit to celebrate 50 years of ASEAN-Japan relations.

Based on the summary and drawing of three profound lessons from the development of ASEAN-Japan relations over the past 50 years, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed three major directions for ASEAN-Japan relations to become a model, a positive factor, playing an important role in ensuring a peaceful, stable, mutually developing and mutually winning environment in the region.

The Prime Minister suggested that the two sides further strengthen strategic coordination and jointly build an open, inclusive, rules-based regional structure with ASEAN playing a central role. Japan should continue to voice its support for ASEAN’s common stance on the East Sea; actively support countries in the Mekong sub-region in effectively responding to non-traditional security challenges, promptly restart the Mekong cooperation mechanism, and prioritize promoting programs and projects supporting sustainable development in the spirit of “leaving no one behind”.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the conference.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the conference.

The Prime Minister emphasized investment in the human factor - the subject, goal, driving force and resource for development in general and of ASEAN-Japan relations in particular; welcomed cultural-social exchange activities and people-to-people exchanges within the framework of the ASEAN-Japan "heart-to-heart partnership", including 500 practical activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Japan relations in 2023.

At the same time, it is necessary to concretize the relationship from "heart to heart" to become a relationship from "action to action", and "from emotion to effectiveness" with practical and specific cooperation projects, programs and plans within the framework of the ASEAN - Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The Prime Minister also emphasized four connections, including suggesting that the two sides strengthen economic, trade and investment connectivity, considering it the focus and driving force for the development of the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership; promote connectivity in infrastructure, especially strategic infrastructure; expand connectivity in new areas, especially innovation, digital transformation, green economy, circular economy, knowledge-based economy and smart agriculture, etc., turning these areas into new growth drivers and new vitality for ASEAN-Japan cooperation in the coming time; prioritize connectivity to achieve sustainable development goals, without sacrificing progress, social justice and the environment to pursue mere growth.

Based on the spirit of political trust as the foundation, economic cooperation as the driving force and people-to-people exchange as the center, the Prime Minister expressed his belief that the ASEAN-Japan ship will overcome all challenges and continue to sail far in the next 50 years and beyond.

At the end of the Conference, the Leaders adopted the “Vision Statement on ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation: Trusted Partners” and the “Plan to Implement the Vision Statement” , which serves as the basis for implementing the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the coming time.

Vu Khuyen (Source: VOV.VN)



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