Japan-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting
On August 1, the Japan-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting was held in Bangkok, the Kingdom of Thailand. Foreign Minister Kono Taro attended the meeting. The overview of the meeting, with a focus on the statements by Minister Kono, is as follows. Minister Kono co-chaired the meeting with H.E. Mr. Minh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam.
On behalf of ASEAN, Deputy Prime Minister Minh reviewed the outcome of Japan ASEAN cooperation in such fields as political and security, economy, and socio-cultural, and expressed his expectation for further progress of Japan-ASEAN cooperation. ASEAN countries also expressed their appreciation and hope for Japan’s support in various areas such as support for ASEAN’s integration through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF), disaster management cooperation through the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre), capacity building, and people-to-people exchanges. Minister Kono stated that Japan fully supports the theme of Thailand’s ASEAN Chairmanship: “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability” and Japan hopes to issue a leaders’ joint statement on connectivity, with a view to enhancing ASEAN connectivity. Minister Kono added that Japan will host the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN) in Yokohama this October, and that Japan also will host 14th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Kyoto in April next year. Referring to the contribution made by Japan Foundation Asia Centre thus far, Minister Kono stated that he would like to discuss with ASEAN countries to further advance such exchanges.
