Source: japandailypress.com
Jakarta (VNA) – ASEAN Secretary-General Le Luong Minh appreciated Japan’s significant support to the association over a couple of years, especially in the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) at the end of this year.
During his recent visit to Indonesia , Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Motoo Hayashi had a phone talk with the ASEAN Secretary-General who underscored the success of the 27th ASEAN Summit and related meetings freshly wrapped up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
One of the highlights of the events was the ASEAN leaders’ statement on the formation of the ASEAN Community and the adoption of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025.
The ASEAN Secretary-General said Japan’s continuous assistance to ASEAN has made substantial contributions to the bloc’s successes and attainments.
For his part, Minister Hayashi said Japan is keen to further relations with ASEAN and its member countries, especially in the economic domain.
Japan is willing to continue its support for the ASEAN economic integration, he added.
The two sides underlined the significance of the ASEAN-Japan comprehensive economic partnership in driving the bilateral economic integration forward.
They also agreed to push ahead with the conclusion of negotiations on investment, trade and services to implement commitments of ASEAN and Japanese leaders in the fields to double the trade and investment inflow in 2022.
Both sides also exchanged views on regional issues of mutual interest pertaining to small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in ASEAN, negotiations to build the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreements, and the role of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) in supporting ASEAN integration.-VNA
