1.
APEC Japan 2010 Economic Leaders’ Meeting
2.
Prime Minister Kan’s Visit to the G20 Seoul Summit
3.
The First Meeting of States Parties to the
Convention on Cluster Munitions
4.
The Aichi-Nagoya Ministerial Meeting of the REDD+
Partnership
5.
COP10 to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
6.
ASEAN related Summit Meetings
7.
The PALM Ministerial Interim Meeting
8.
The Eighth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM 8)
9.
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) |
|
JICC
Newsletter
No.1, January 2011 |
6. ASEAN related
Summit Meetings
ASEAN related Summit Meetings: Prime
Minister Kan Announces Support for the Strengthening of ASEAN
Connectivity
On October 29 and 30, Mr. Naoto Kan, Prime Minister of Japan,
attended the ASEAN related Summit meetings in Ha Noi, Viet Nam. At
the Japan-ASEAN Summit on October 29, Prime Minister Kan announced
that Japan would support ASEAN’s efforts to strengthen its
Connectivity* toward the achievement of the goal of establishing an
ASEAN Community by 2015, and launch work for formulating a new
declaration and a plan of action that would stipulate Japan-ASEAN
relations, based on the basic recognition that the stability and
prosperity of ASEAN is important for the stability and prosperity of
not only Japan but
East Asia as well. ASEAN member countries welcomed
this announcement.
At the
ASEAN Plus Three Summit that followed, Prime Minister Kan welcomed
developments in financial cooperation, including the realization of
Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation (CMIM). The leaders of
other countries also stated their high appreciation of the
developments in financial cooperation and expressed expectations for
them. Each state emphasized the importance of practical cooperation
under the framework of ASEAN Plus Three, and praised the ongoing
expansion of areas for such cooperation.
At the Second Mekong-Japan Summit Meeting held the
same day, the leaders confirmed the advancement of cooperation
between Japan and Mekong region countries since the first meeting
held in 2009, and adopted the Action Plan for the “A Decade Toward
the Green Mekong” Initiative, which stipulates specific efforts in
the area of the environment and climate change, and the
“Mekong-Japan Economic and Industrial Cooperation Initiative (MJ-CI)
Action Plan,” which specifies matters such as infrastructure
development based on recommendations from the business community.
At the East Asia Summit (EAS) on October 30, Prime
Minister Kan welcomed the participation of the United States and
Russia, stating that it was important that member countries take the
two nations’ attendance as an opportunity to strengthen efforts in
the areas of politics and security while at the same time further
developing efforts in the area of the economy. The leaders at the
meeting adopted the Ha Noi Declaration on the Commemoration of the
Fifth Anniversary of the East Asia Summit which includes EAS
principles, the accomplishments so far, and the intention to further
strengthen the EAS going forward.
During the period of the ASEAN related Summit
meetings, a Japan-China-ROK Trilateral Summit Meeting was also held,
in which the leaders of the three countries welcomed the advancement
of cooperation in various areas such as trade and investment and
exchanged views on further strengthening of the trilateral
cooperation and on regional and international issues.
Prime Minister Kan paid an official visit to Viet Nam
on October 30 and 31. During a Japan-Viet Nam Summit Meeting, Prime
Minister Kan and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung of the Socialist
Republic of Viet Nam signed the Japan-Viet Nam Joint Statement on
the Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia. At the
meeting, the Vietnamese side announced in the joint statement that
it had decided to choose Japan as its cooperation partner for
building two reactors at the second nuclear power plant site and for
the investigation, exploration, and utilization of rare earths,
among other activity.
Through the series of meetings, Japan further
strengthened cooperative relations with ASEAN and other East Asian
countries, including its support for ASEAN’s efforts to strengthen
Connectivity.
*Note:
ASEAN adopted the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity in its Summit on
October 28. It is an ASEAN initiative to enhance economic
integration within the region, aiming for the establishment of the
ASEAN Community in 2015, by promoting the facilitation of logistics
and the flow of goods and people through measures such as the
development of railways, roads, and other cross-border
infrastructure, and the standardization of customs procedure and
other systems. |