Courtesy Call on Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs IKUINA Akiko by Young Government Officials from Cambodia and Lao PDR

13 February 2025 -

On 13 February, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, IKUINA Akiko, received a courtesy call by a group of young government officials from Cambodia and Lao PDR studying at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), under the Master’s Degree Program funded by the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF). An overview of the meeting is as follows. This program was launched this fiscal year with the aim of narrowing development gaps within ASEAN and developing future leaders in the region.

1. Parliamentary Vice-Minister Ikuina stated that peace and prosperity in ASEAN, which is the “keystone” of the Indo-Pacific, are important for the region and the international community as a whole, and Japan has been closely cooperating with ASEAN, as a true friend of ‘‘heart-to-heart’’ connections, over the half century in a wide-range of fields. She expressed her expectation that they would serve as bridges between Japan and ASEAN and contribute to further progress of the Japan-ASEAN relations.

The young government officials from Cambodia and Lao PDR expressed their gratitude for the long-standing support of Japan for the development of ASEAN.