18th Meeting of the ASEAN-Japan Joint Cooperation Committee (AJJCC) Was Held in Jakarta

18th Meeting of the ASEAN-Japan Joint Cooperation Committee (AJJCC) Was Held in Jakarta
10 June 2024 -

On 10 June, the 18th ASEAN-Japan Joint Cooperation Committee (AJJCC) was held at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta. Ambassador KIYA Masahiko of the Mission of Japan to ASEAN and Permanent Representative of Thailand as Country Coordinator for Japan, Pantipha Iamsudha Ekarohit, co-chaired the meeting, having attendance from Permanent Representatives of ASEAN Member States and delegates, as well as Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for Political Security Community from the ASEAN Secretariat, Dato’ Astanah Abdul Aziz and the Official of the Regional Policy Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, HAYAKAWA Rena also attended the meeting.

This year’s AJJCC acted as an important opportunity to follow up on the new Joint Vision Statement and its Implementation Plan for the first time after the 50th year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation and the Commemorative Summit last year. In around six months since the adoption, 81 of the 130 items (approximately 62%, 16 out of 43 areas) of the implementation plan have already been addressed. This result is a testament to the seamless implementation of close cooperation between ASEAN and Japan thus far. The meeting also discussed regional and international affairs.

The new Joint Vision Statement has the subtitle “Trusted Partners”. Together with ASEAN, Japan will continue to deepen and expand cooperation toward the next 50 years.

Through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund, the Government of Japan aims to strengthen support for the functions of the ASEAN Secretariat and supporting the capacity building for Timor-Leste’s accession to ASEAN with several projects, namely 1) Technical Assistance to Support the ASEAN Secretariat’s Analysis and Monitoring Capacity in Connection with the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP); 2) ASEAN-Japan Special Youth Forum for Promoting the Rule of Law; 3) ASEAN-Japan Good Practice Seminar on Intellectual Property 2024-2025 (JSIP follow-up seminar), and others.

Click here for Ambassador KIYA’s presentation material.