WE, the Heads of State/Government of the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan, gathered at the 22nd ASEAN-Japan Summit in Bangkok, Thailand on 4 November 2019;
REAFFIRMING our commitment to enhancing the ASEAN-Japan Strategic Partnership for mutual benefit, as stated in the Vision Statement on ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation in 2013, including through the full and effective implementation of its revised Implementation Plan adopted in Manila, Philippines on 6 August 2017;
RECOGNISING that enhancing connectivity is a key to realising our collective efforts for regional integration and cooperation as well as the promotion of sustainable development in ASEAN and Japan, in response to current and emerging challenges and opportunities;
ACKNOWLEDGING the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific which envisages ASEAN Centrality as the underlying principle for promoting cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region on specific areas of common interests to complement the relevant connectivity initiatives and support the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) 2025;
RECALLING the shared view to promote a rules-based Indo-Pacific region that is free and open, embraces key principles such as ASEAN’s unity and centrality, inclusiveness, transparency and complements ASEAN community building process;
EMPHASISING the importance of MPAC 2025 in building the ASEAN Community as well as in enhancing synergies with other connectivity initiatives in the region including the “Expanded Partnership for Quality Infrastructure” initiative, in accordance with international standards;
REITERATING our commitment towards the Joint Statement of the 21st ASEAN-Japan Summit to Commemorate the 45th Anniversary of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation to continue strengthening cooperation in enhancing connectivity, quality infrastructure in accordance with international standards, and with due consideration to the “G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment”, which includes elements of openness, transparency, economic efficiency in view of life cycle cost, and debt sustainability, and narrowing development gaps in the region through the implementation of MPAC 2025, the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Work Plan III (2016-2020) and its successor documents, and the Expanded Partnership for Quality Infrastructure;
WELCOMING Japan’s continued support for ASEAN Connectivity, including through its policy which reaffirms ASEAN’s vital role as the bridge connecting the connectivities;
1. Promote connectivity between ASEAN and Japan by enhancing links and synergies between MPAC 2025 and other relevant connectivity strategies, including the “Connecting the Connectivities” approach, Japan’s Expanded Partnership for Quality Infrastructure, ASEAN-Japan Transport Partnership (AJTP), the Tokyo Strategy 2018 for Mekong-Japan Cooperation, Mekong Industry Development Vision 2.0 (MIDV2.0), and Ayeyawady - Chao Phraya - Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS);
2. Promote complementarities between the ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, where connectivity and infrastructure are components, to catalyse sustainable development in ASEAN and Japan;
3. Pursue economic prosperity through improved physical, institutional and people-to-people linkages by promoting competitiveness, inclusiveness, and a greater sense of community;
4. Enhance physical connectivity by, inter alia, promoting an integrated multimodal transport system, including air, sea, and land transport, in order to foster seamless logistics and competitiveness between ASEAN and Japan;
5. Enhance the ASEAN-Japan aviation relationship, including better air transport connectivity between ASEAN and Japan, and look forward to the successful conclusion of a more liberal and mutually beneficial ASEAN-Japan regional air services agreement over and beyond what has been exchanged bilaterally between Japan and each ASEAN Member State;
6. Promote regional connectivity through various cooperation projects and activities under the ASEAN-Japan Transport Partnership (AJTP);
7. Promote multi-stakeholder cooperation that contributes to sustainable infrastructure, including by increasing public and private infrastructure investment, significantly enhancing the evaluation and sharing of best practices, improving infrastructure productivity, and advancing smart city development and sustainable urbanisation;
8. Promote quality infrastructure for sustainable growth in accordance with the international best practices that enhance the movement of people, services, goods, and innovations;
9. Promote digital connectivity, smart city development, and innovation to be widely applied in the society through platforms such as the ASEAN Smart Cities Network (ASCN), the Japan Association for Smart Cities in ASEAN (JASCA) and the “ASEAN-Japan Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Dialogue”, by (a) exchanging views and information on regulatory frameworks for the delivery of digital services including data management and digital financial services; (b) discussing policies to create business-friendly environment; (c) sharing success stories of businesses which apply digital innovation in society and best practices on management of trusted cross-border data flows to support the digital economy of the region; (d) equipping micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with the capabilities to access new technologies and financial support for development and innovation; (e) encouraging collaboration and sharing of experiences and best practices to facilitate the development of trusted and interoperable digital infrastructure; (f) enhancing cybersecurity capacity building for ASEAN through the ASEAN-Japan Cybersecurity Capacity Building Centre and the ASEAN-Singapore Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence; and (g) providing solutions to each city’s challenges and needs;
10. Enhance people mobility through greater collaboration on human capital development among ASEAN Member States and with Japan to up-skill and re-skill our manpower to prepare for the future of work, including through Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes and relevant cooperation under the Agreement on Technical Cooperation (TCA) between ASEAN and the Government of Japan;
11. Promote people-to-people connectivity by enhancing facilitation of travel and tourist visits as well as developing competitive, responsible, sustainable, inclusive and balanced tourism sector, sharing of best practices through vocational training programs as well as strengthening youth and cultural exchanges and cooperation, in order to promote mutual understanding and greater awareness of each other’s culture;
12. Support efforts to advance infrastructure development and financing by mobilizing resources, including private capital and expertise, and encourage public-private partnerships (PPP) in developing and financing viable projects;
13. Encourage financial institutions to provide more effective and diversified sources of financing to quality infrastructure projects, including the Initial ASEAN Priority Infrastructure Project Pipeline, and encourage the participation of multilateral financial institutions such as the Asian Development Bank, and the World Bank Group;
14. Encourage Japanese relevant agencies to work with the ASEAN Connectivity Coordinating Committee on initiatives that would enhance the implementation of MPAC 2025, thus contributing to greater connectivity between ASEAN and Japan;
15. Encourage further support from Japan, including through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) and the newly launched technical cooperation by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under the TCA, to achieve the successful implementation of MPAC 2025 and relevant connectivity projects;
16. Enhance cultural ties and intellectual exchanges between ASEAN and Japan through projects strengthening people-to-people connectivity, including those conducted by the ASEAN-Japan Centre and the Japan Foundation Asia Center, as well as youth and sports exchange programs by the Government of Japan;
17. Support the work of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) in promoting closer economic partnership between ASEAN and Japan, and encourage ERIA’s support in enhancing connectivity through research activities, in order to create greater synergies between MPAC 2025 and other connectivity initiatives in the region.
Adopted in Bangkok, Thailand, this Fourth Day of November in the Year Two Thousand and Nineteen.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs