ASEAN, Japan stand together to address difficulties

ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan has said the grouping will stand by Japan in its efforts to overcome difficulties at present and in the future.
ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan has said the grouping will standby Japan in its efforts to overcome difficulties at present and inthe future.

Pitsuwan told Japanese Foreign Minister TakeakiMatsumoto during their meeting in Jakarta , Indonesia on April 9following the Special ASEAN-Japan Ministerial Meeting that the recentquake and tsunami in Japan have caused a great loss but they providedan opportunity for ASEAN and Japan to be resolved in standingside-by-side to cope with present and future challenges.

Pitsuwan said he believed that Japan would come through thedifficulties as quickly as it rose from the economic and politicalcrisis.

The ASEAN chief went on to say that he will report onASEAN member states' efforts to support Japan during the 18th and 19thASEAN Summits this year in Indonesia .

Minister Matsumoto saidthat Tokyo would coordinate closely with the ASEAN Secretariat toenhance its cooperation with ASEAN in disaster management work.

Headded that Japan was also interested in exploring the East AsiaSummit and the ASEAN Regional Forum, both of which ASEAN helms,reiterating Japan 's commitment and support to ASEAN Connectivity.

Earlier at the Special ASEAN-Japan Ministerial Meeting, the two sidesexchanged views on the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan aswell as consulted with each other about cooperation in natural disastercontrol and measures to deal with disasters’ aftermaths.

The twosides committed to sharing experience and working together to cope withnatural disasters via the current mechanisms, and exchanged view pointson the drafts of the ASEAN-Japan Strategic Partnership Declaration andan action plan for the implementation of the strategic partnership inthe 2011-2015 period./.

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