Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Motegi Toshimisu, visited the ASEAN Secretariat on 10 January 2020, during which he met with the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dato Lim Jock Hoi, and delivered a lecture on Japan’s Policy for ASEAN “Towards a new stage of cooperation in the spirit of Gotong-Royong”.

The lecture highlighted Japan’s contributions to narrow human resource gap within ASEAN through the “Attachment Programme” and strengthen ASEAN’s emergency response to natural disaster through the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre). These initiatives are funded by the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF).