Singapore (FN), Nov. 15 – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen highly appreciated Japan's efforts to help building the ASEAN Community and ASEAN integration through the Japan Fund.
His remark was made during the 3rd ASEAN-Japan Summit, held on 14 November 2018, in Singapore, presided over by 10 ASEAN leaders, including Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The Heads of State of ASEAN countries expressed their great pleasure that ASEAN-Japan cooperation has made significant progress over the past 45 years. In this spirit, all ASEAN leaders welcomed and supported the issuance of the Joint Declaration on the 21st ASEAN-Japan Summit to celebrate the 45th Anniversary of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation.
At the same time, ASEAN leaders also supported the continued close cooperation between ASEAN Members and Japan to implement the revised of the Implementation Vision on ASEAN-Japan Cooperation, which was adopted in August 2017, aiming to strengthen and enhance the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
The leaders of ASEAN and Japan have also expressed their pleasure to see an increase of US$219 billion in trade volume by 2017. This reflects that Japan remains ASEAN's main economic partner.
Along with other ASEAN leaders, Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia welcomed the signing of the First Protocol to amend the Agreement on a comprehensive economic partnership between ASEAN and Japan.
Cambodia also appreciated Japan's important contribution in building the ASEAN Community and ASEAN integration through the Japan Fund and supported Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025, the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Work Plan III, as well as programmes to foster human resource development in order to narrow the development gap within ASEAN Member States, particularly, ASEAN's human capital building and promoting people-to-people relations.
ASEAN Leaders expressed appreciation for Japan’s support of ASEAN unity, cohesiveness and centrality in the evolving regional architecture, and took note of Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy”.
ASEAN-Japan leaders adopted the joint-statement of the 21st ASEAN-Japan Summit to celebrate the 45th Anniversary of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation, including the briefing Paper on the Progress of Implementation of the ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation Vision Statement and the First Protocol ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
=FRESH NEWS
