ASEAN and Japan Commemorate 50th Year of Friendship and Cooperation

The leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan gathered in Tokyo on Sunday (17/12/2023 to commemorate the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan.

IDXChannel - The leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan gathered in Tokyo on Sunday (17/12/2023 to commemorate the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation.

During the summit, they adopted the Joint Vision Statement on ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation and its Implementation Plan.

This Implementation Plan serves to realise the abovementioned Joint Vision Statement to mainstream and further strengthen cooperation in the four priority areas of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), namely, maritime cooperation, connectivity, the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and economic and other possible areas of cooperation.

"Our vision is for a world where the shared principles and values, as espoused including in the United Nations Charter (the UN Charter) and upheld by the AOIP, among others, are ensured and where all countries can pursue peace and prosperity and uphold the principles of democracy, the rule of law and good governance, and respect for and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms," the leaders said in a joint vision statement.

"We are committed to further fostering “heart-to-heart” relationship of mutual trust, mutual understanding, and mutual respect as the foundation for the ASEAN-Japan partnership," they continued.

In the economic sector, the leaders agreed to to co-create a prosperous and sustainable economy and society, which is diverse, inclusive, resilient, free and fair, jointly address various common economic and social challenges, and ensure human security through various measures.

The leaders agreed to enhance connectivity, including air connectivity between ASEAN and Japan, such as through quality infrastructure investment, institutional and human resource development and exchanges;

They also agreed to strengthen and secure supply chain resilience and reliability, and enhancing industrial competitiveness such as next generation auto industry.

To promote sustainable energy security and advance regional energy cooperation, Japan introduced various initiatives such as the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) platform.

Furthermore, they also agreed to promote digitalisation and information and communication technology (ICT) solutions as well as cooperation on Artificial Intelligence (AI). (WHY)