On 24 October 2009, the 12th ASEAN-Japan Summit was convened at the Dusit-Thani Hotel, Cha-am, Petchburi. The Leaders of ASEAN Member States and Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Yukio Hatoyama, participated in the meeting, of which gist is as follows.
- Leaders exchanged views on ASEAN-Japan cooperation in various areas, including trade and investment, narrowing of the development gap within ASEAN, climate change, food and energy cooperation, including the development of clean and efficient energy, and response to pandemics such as Influenza A (H1N1).
- The Japanese Prime Minister stressed the importance of a long-term vision of building an East Asian community and reiterated Japan's continued support for ASEAN's community building efforts. ASEAN welcomed such support as well as Japan's commitment to raise ASEAN-Japan cooperation to a new level.
- Japan congratulated ASEAN for the launch of AICHR. ASEAN looks forward to Japan's assistance in developing the capacity of the Commission.
- Both sides welcomed progress of the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership and stressed the importance of promoting efforts towards its full implementation.
- Japan reaffirmed its determination to contribute to ASEAN's efforts to address the intra-regional development gap. In this regard, Japan will next month organize the first Japan-Mekong Summit to promote the Mekong region. To date, Japan has contributed some USD 62 million to the ASEAN Secretariat for the support of vulnerable areas and people affected by the current economic slowdown.
- ASEAN expressed the hope that Japan would support the development of ASEAN's master plan on infrastructure development.
- ASEAN expressed appreciation for Japan's provision of liquidity to increase the size of CMIM. ASEAN called for Japan's support for ASEAN's continued participation in G20 meetings.
- On climate change, ASEAN appreciated Japan's support for the use of ICT for environmental management and disaster management, as well as its assistance in terms of HRD. Leaders agreed on the need to contribute to the success of the Copenhagen Summit. In this regard, Japan stated that it had initiatives to provide various forms of assistance to developing countries.
- They noted that the operations of the ASEAN-Japan Center would be augmented so that it could play an important role in the tourism and investment areas. They hoped both sides would make full use of this Centre.
- To strengthen regional cooperation, Leaders noted the importance of building a strong bond of mutual trust between countries and peoples through youth exchanges. Currently, 6,000 youths per year, including through exchanges between universities, are welcomed into Japan to strengthen ties between the people of ASEAN and Japan. It is hoped that such exchanges would further expand.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th
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