Speech by Prime Minister Suga at the Vietnam-Japan University

19 October 2020 -

During visit to Vietnam, Prime Minister Suga delivered his speech at the Vietnam-Japan University (VJU), which is a symbol of Japan-ASEAN Cooperation.

He started by sharing his life journey that led him to become Prime Minister of Japan. He then shared his sense of affinity to the country and ASEAN. In his speech, he mentioned about long-standing Japan-ASEAN cooperation in helping each other as friends in Asia. Japan is implementing the Covid-19 Crisis Response Emergency Support yen Loans worth up to 500 billion yen over the next two years to support economic activities of countries with a focus on the Indo-Pacific region including ASEAN. Moreover, Japan and ASEAN are currently working together towards the establishment of the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases with the aim to strengthen ASEAN’s response capacity to infectious diseases.

Japan and ASEAN also cooperate to reduce trade barriers by concluding bilateral economic partnership agreements, starting with the Japan-Singapore Economic Partnership Agreement, and the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP), and also to pursue rule-making on regional economic activities. In digital technology sector, ASEAN-Japan Cybersecurity Capacity Building Centre (AJCCBC) was established in Bangkok two years ago by Japan’s cooperation contributes to safeguarding regional cyberspace together, and to creating economies that enable companies to do business safely.

He concluded by encouraging collaboration between Japan-ASEAN in moving forward to accomplish a free, open and more prosperous Indo-Pacific.

The Feasibility Study on the Establishment of “ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases”, ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP) and ASEAN-Japan Cybersecurity Capacity Building Centre (AJCCBC) are supported by the Government of Japan through Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF).