Leaders of Japan, Cambodia , Laos , Myanmar , Vietnam andThailand met in Tokyo on December 14 for the Fifth Mekong-JapanSummit back to back the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit Meeting.
The Leaders conducted a mid-term review of the progress to date ofMekong-Japan cooperation based on “Tokyo Strategy 2012 for Mekong-JapanCooperation” and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthencooperation toward 2015.
The following is the mid-term review adopted at the summit:
I Introduction
The Leaders noted with deep satisfaction that the relationship andcooperation between the Mekong region countries and Japan have beendeveloping substantially based on the “Tokyo Strategy 2012 forMekong-Japan Cooperation”, adopted at the Fourth Mekong-Japan Summitlast year, which includes three pillars to be implemented by 2015.
The Leaders of the Mekong region countries welcomed Prime MinisterAbe's visit to all the Mekong region countries this year.
The Leaders of the Mekong region countries welcomed the steadfastimplementation of assistance by 600 billion JPY in ODA from the fiscalyear 2013, committed by Japan at the Fourth Mekong-Japan Summit2012.
The Leaders appreciated ongoing activities betweenJapan and Thailand under Mekong-Japan cooperation and welcomedthe continued partnership for future activities.
TheLeader of Japan proposed a revised version of “ Japan ’s IndicativeFlagship Projects List”, which was presented by Japan at the FourthMekong-Japan Summit. The Leaders of the Mekong region countrieswelcomed this proposal.
Ⅲ Mekong-Japan cooperation
1) Enhancing Mekong Connectivity
The Leaders reaffirmed that the efforts to enhance connectivity in theMekong region is significant for enhancing connectivity in ASEANtoward the establishment of the ASEAN Community in 2015.
The Leaders of the Mekong countries recognized the progress oninfrastructure and institutional connectivity development on East-WestEconomic Corridor and Southern Economic Corridor undertaken by theMekong countries, and appreciated Japan ’s cooperation indevelopment of these Corridors, and also expressed expectation on futureassistance of Japan for these Economic Corridors.
The Leaders reaffirmed the importance of fulfilling the missing linksalong the main Economic Corridors. At the same time, the Leaders alsorecognized the necessity of multifaceted urban area development alongthe Economic Corridors.
The Leaders ofthe Mekong region countries noted the progress in customs cooperationfor trade facilitation through customs modernization supported byJapan in Mekong region countries and other ASEAN countries,including the introduction of automated customs clearance systems, as asignificant contribution to enhance institutional connectivity in theMekong region.
The Leaders reaffirmed theimportance of promotion of “ASEAN Smart Network Initiative” for thesolution of social issues including environment issues by developing andutilizing ICT infrastructure and applications.
2) Developing Together
The Leaders welcomed the steady development of hard infrastructure andcapacity building, including Japan’s assistance in formulatingindustrial policies such as “Industrialization Strategy and Action Plantowards 2020” of Viet Nam, based upon the Mekong Development Roadmapadopted at the 4th Mekong-Japan Economic Ministers Meeting under theMekong-Japan Economic and Industrial Cooperation Initiative (MJ-CI). TheLeaders also noted the importance of formulating a medium- andlong-term industry development vision of the Mekong region countriesfor enhancing region wide value chain network which was proposed at theSixth Mekong-Japan Industry and Government Dialogue, and instructedEconomic Ministers to draw up such a vision.
a. Improving Investment Environment in the Mekong region
The Leaders of the Mekong region countries welcomed the increase ofinvestment from Japan to the region from last year. The Leaderswelcomed that the rule negotiation on the Investment and ServicesChapter of the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP)Agreement reached substantial agreement and the legal framework forhigh-level liberalization and protection of the investment would bedeveloped between all the Mekong region countries and Japan , bythe conclusion of the bilateral investment treaty between Japan andMyanmar .
The Leaders shared the view that Japanand the Mekong region countries make efforts to improve investmentenvironment for further promoting investment to the Mekong regioncountries through the Joint Committee based on the existing the EconomicPartnership Agreements and investment agreements.
The Leaders of the Mekong region countries expressed theirappreciation to the steady progress of cooperation through Japan ’srelated agencies Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), JapanBank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Japan External TradeOrganization (JETRO), New Energy and Industrial Technology DevelopmentOrganization (NEDO), Nippon Expert and Investment Insurance (NEXI) andThe Overseas Human Resources and Industry Development Association(HIDA). The Leaders welcomed the decision on the opening of the JETROoffice in Vientiane , Lao PDR in 2014.
b. Actions and measures to engage Mekong region countries in the global market economy
The Leaders welcomed accession of Lao PDR to WTO in February 2013,and expressed their determination to work to maintain and strengthen themultilateral trading system.
c. Actions andmeasures to strengthen support for Cambodia, Lao PDR , Myanmar, VietNam (CLMV) development and the CLV (Cambodia, Lao PDR , Myanmar, VietNam) Development Triangle Area
The Leader of Japan announcedthat Japan will continue to support CLMV development and the CLVDevelopment Triangle Area, and the Leaders of Mekong region countrieswelcomed the announcement.
d. Actions and measures to promote cultural exchange and tourism
The Leaders welcomed Japan ’s announcement that it would strengthencultural exchanges in Asia through promoting two-way exchanges andcooperation in the field of arts culture and sports, as well as Japaneselanguage learning assistance, in order to realize a future whereJapan and other Asian countries learn from each other.
The Leaders of the Mekong region countries welcomed the increase oftourists between Japan and the Mekong region countries. TheLeaders of the Mekong region countries welcomed that Japan decidedto relax visa requirements for all of the Mekong countries thisyear. The Leaders decided to make further efforts for the promotion ofpeople-to-people exchanges.
The Leaders reaffirmedthe importance of boosting the development of the legal framework, suchas bilateral and multilateral air services agreements for furtherpromotion of people-to-people exchanges.
The Leaderswelcomed active youth exchanges between Japan and the Mekongregion countries through various exchange programs, such as JENESYS2.0.(Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths 2.0)
e. Actions and measures to promote public-private cooperation
The Leaders decided to promote public-private partnership projectstowards resilient infrastructure development in the Mekong region.
The Leaders confirmed that they will continue to holdthe Forum for the Promotion of Public-Private Cooperation in the MekongRegion in order to further strengthen the framework for public-privatecooperation, and collaboration with Mekong-Japan Industry and GovernmentDialogue.
3) Ensuring Human Security and Environmental Sustainability
a. Actions and measures to contribute to the achievement of human security goals across the Mekong regional countries
The Leaders confirmed that steady progress of specific targets,provided along the MDGs, to save children's and maternal lives and toreduce the deaths related to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
The Leaders shared the view to cooperate towards the development ofthe post-2015 development agenda from the perspective of human security.
The Leaders welcomed the efforts of both sides andthe Leaders of the Mekong region countries called for technicalsupport of Japan to advance universal health coverage and improvehealth care system governance. The Leaders decided to strengthencooperation in the field of communicable diseases, maternal and childhealthcare, and preventive healthcare. The Leaders of the Mekongregion countries also welcomed Japan ’s medical technologies andservices and human resource development such as nursing to providebetter health service in the region.
b. Actions and measures for environmental and climate change issues
The Leaders welcomed that, at the 2nd Green Mekong Forum co-hosted byThailand and Japan in Bangkok in October 2013, participants from notonly government agencies but also local government and the privatesector shared experiences and exchanged views on areas of cooperationarticulated in the“Action Plan for ‘A Decade toward the Green Mekong’Initiative”.
The Leader of Japan expressed hiscommitment that Japan , on the basis of the "Proactive DiplomaticStrategy for Countering Global Warming" announced at the 19th Conferenceof the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on ClimateChange in Warsaw (COP19), will support developing countries in the fieldof climate change, taking into consideration the needs in the future.The Leaders of the Mekong region countries welcomed Japan ’sannouncement.
Regarding the 2nd East Asia Low CarbonGrowth Partnership Dialogue in Tokyo in May 2013, the Leader ofJapan appreciated the contribution to the discussions and from theMekong region countries including Cambodia serving as co-chair.
Regarding the Joint Crediting Mechanism, the Leader of Japan welcomedthat such mechanism was already established with Vietnam and LaoPDR respectively, and announced Japan ’s intention to continue topromote this effort in the Mekong region.
TheLeaders reaffirmed the vital importance of sustainable management anddevelopment of water and related resources of the Mekong River andcontinue to cooperate with local and international organizations, inparticular the Mekong River Commission (MRC) in this regard. To thisend, the MRC was encouraged to expedite the studies on sustainablemanagement and development of the Mekong River , including impactsby mainstream hydropower projects.
TheLeaders reaffirmed the continued cooperation in the utilizing of ICT forenvironmental issues and disaster risk reduction.
c. Actions and measures for disaster management cooperation
The Leaders welcomed the progress of disaster risk reductioncooperation between Japan and ASEAN and Japan’s support for floodwater,typhoon and cyclone damage in the Mekong region, and, bearing in mindrecent disasters in the Philippines, shared the view that Japan andMekong region countries will promote cooperation for disaster riskreduction including strengthening ASEAN Coordinating Center forHumanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Center) and disasterprevention agencies in each country.
The Leadersreached consensus to work together towards the Third World Conference onDisaster Risk Reduction to be held in Sendai , Japan in March 2015and the preceding regional meeting – the Sixth Asian MinisterialConference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) to be held in Bangkokin June 2014.
d. Action and implementation regarding food security
The Leaders welcomed the steady implementation of institutionaldevelopment of ASEAN + 3 Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) and confirmedthat APTERR played important role in the occasion of disaster relief inLao PDR and Philippines .
IV Assistance for Myanmar ’s efforts
The Leaders reiterated their commitment to support Myanmar ’songoing efforts to address various issues, including democratization,enhancement of the rule of law, economic reform, national reconciliationand development cooperation. The Leaders of the Mekong regioncountries appreciated Japan ’s support for Myanmar ’s efforts bycombining the public and private sectors’ strengths.
In this regard, the Leaders of the Mekong region countries welcomedJapan ’s announcement of the implementation of 91 billion JPY in ODAfor Myanmar by the end of fiscal year 2013.
The Leaders expressed confidence and support to Myanmar ’s leadership as the chair of ASEAN in 2014.
V Mekong Japan cooperation in 2014
The Leaders confirmed that the Sixth Mekong-Japan Summit will be heldon the occasion of the multilateral meeting in 2014 on a convenient dateby the co-chairs of Myanmar and Japan.-VNA
The Leaders conducted a mid-term review of the progress to date ofMekong-Japan cooperation based on “Tokyo Strategy 2012 for Mekong-JapanCooperation” and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthencooperation toward 2015.
The following is the mid-term review adopted at the summit:
I Introduction
The Leaders noted with deep satisfaction that the relationship andcooperation between the Mekong region countries and Japan have beendeveloping substantially based on the “Tokyo Strategy 2012 forMekong-Japan Cooperation”, adopted at the Fourth Mekong-Japan Summitlast year, which includes three pillars to be implemented by 2015.
The Leaders of the Mekong region countries welcomed Prime MinisterAbe's visit to all the Mekong region countries this year.
The Leaders of the Mekong region countries welcomed the steadfastimplementation of assistance by 600 billion JPY in ODA from the fiscalyear 2013, committed by Japan at the Fourth Mekong-Japan Summit2012.
The Leaders appreciated ongoing activities betweenJapan and Thailand under Mekong-Japan cooperation and welcomedthe continued partnership for future activities.
TheLeader of Japan proposed a revised version of “ Japan ’s IndicativeFlagship Projects List”, which was presented by Japan at the FourthMekong-Japan Summit. The Leaders of the Mekong region countrieswelcomed this proposal.
Ⅲ Mekong-Japan cooperation
1) Enhancing Mekong Connectivity
The Leaders reaffirmed that the efforts to enhance connectivity in theMekong region is significant for enhancing connectivity in ASEANtoward the establishment of the ASEAN Community in 2015.
The Leaders of the Mekong countries recognized the progress oninfrastructure and institutional connectivity development on East-WestEconomic Corridor and Southern Economic Corridor undertaken by theMekong countries, and appreciated Japan ’s cooperation indevelopment of these Corridors, and also expressed expectation on futureassistance of Japan for these Economic Corridors.
The Leaders reaffirmed the importance of fulfilling the missing linksalong the main Economic Corridors. At the same time, the Leaders alsorecognized the necessity of multifaceted urban area development alongthe Economic Corridors.
The Leaders ofthe Mekong region countries noted the progress in customs cooperationfor trade facilitation through customs modernization supported byJapan in Mekong region countries and other ASEAN countries,including the introduction of automated customs clearance systems, as asignificant contribution to enhance institutional connectivity in theMekong region.
The Leaders reaffirmed theimportance of promotion of “ASEAN Smart Network Initiative” for thesolution of social issues including environment issues by developing andutilizing ICT infrastructure and applications.
2) Developing Together
The Leaders welcomed the steady development of hard infrastructure andcapacity building, including Japan’s assistance in formulatingindustrial policies such as “Industrialization Strategy and Action Plantowards 2020” of Viet Nam, based upon the Mekong Development Roadmapadopted at the 4th Mekong-Japan Economic Ministers Meeting under theMekong-Japan Economic and Industrial Cooperation Initiative (MJ-CI). TheLeaders also noted the importance of formulating a medium- andlong-term industry development vision of the Mekong region countriesfor enhancing region wide value chain network which was proposed at theSixth Mekong-Japan Industry and Government Dialogue, and instructedEconomic Ministers to draw up such a vision.
a. Improving Investment Environment in the Mekong region
The Leaders of the Mekong region countries welcomed the increase ofinvestment from Japan to the region from last year. The Leaderswelcomed that the rule negotiation on the Investment and ServicesChapter of the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP)Agreement reached substantial agreement and the legal framework forhigh-level liberalization and protection of the investment would bedeveloped between all the Mekong region countries and Japan , bythe conclusion of the bilateral investment treaty between Japan andMyanmar .
The Leaders shared the view that Japanand the Mekong region countries make efforts to improve investmentenvironment for further promoting investment to the Mekong regioncountries through the Joint Committee based on the existing the EconomicPartnership Agreements and investment agreements.
The Leaders of the Mekong region countries expressed theirappreciation to the steady progress of cooperation through Japan ’srelated agencies Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), JapanBank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Japan External TradeOrganization (JETRO), New Energy and Industrial Technology DevelopmentOrganization (NEDO), Nippon Expert and Investment Insurance (NEXI) andThe Overseas Human Resources and Industry Development Association(HIDA). The Leaders welcomed the decision on the opening of the JETROoffice in Vientiane , Lao PDR in 2014.
b. Actions and measures to engage Mekong region countries in the global market economy
The Leaders welcomed accession of Lao PDR to WTO in February 2013,and expressed their determination to work to maintain and strengthen themultilateral trading system.
c. Actions andmeasures to strengthen support for Cambodia, Lao PDR , Myanmar, VietNam (CLMV) development and the CLV (Cambodia, Lao PDR , Myanmar, VietNam) Development Triangle Area
The Leader of Japan announcedthat Japan will continue to support CLMV development and the CLVDevelopment Triangle Area, and the Leaders of Mekong region countrieswelcomed the announcement.
d. Actions and measures to promote cultural exchange and tourism
The Leaders welcomed Japan ’s announcement that it would strengthencultural exchanges in Asia through promoting two-way exchanges andcooperation in the field of arts culture and sports, as well as Japaneselanguage learning assistance, in order to realize a future whereJapan and other Asian countries learn from each other.
The Leaders of the Mekong region countries welcomed the increase oftourists between Japan and the Mekong region countries. TheLeaders of the Mekong region countries welcomed that Japan decidedto relax visa requirements for all of the Mekong countries thisyear. The Leaders decided to make further efforts for the promotion ofpeople-to-people exchanges.
The Leaders reaffirmedthe importance of boosting the development of the legal framework, suchas bilateral and multilateral air services agreements for furtherpromotion of people-to-people exchanges.
The Leaderswelcomed active youth exchanges between Japan and the Mekongregion countries through various exchange programs, such as JENESYS2.0.(Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths 2.0)
e. Actions and measures to promote public-private cooperation
The Leaders decided to promote public-private partnership projectstowards resilient infrastructure development in the Mekong region.
The Leaders confirmed that they will continue to holdthe Forum for the Promotion of Public-Private Cooperation in the MekongRegion in order to further strengthen the framework for public-privatecooperation, and collaboration with Mekong-Japan Industry and GovernmentDialogue.
3) Ensuring Human Security and Environmental Sustainability
a. Actions and measures to contribute to the achievement of human security goals across the Mekong regional countries
The Leaders confirmed that steady progress of specific targets,provided along the MDGs, to save children's and maternal lives and toreduce the deaths related to HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
The Leaders shared the view to cooperate towards the development ofthe post-2015 development agenda from the perspective of human security.
The Leaders welcomed the efforts of both sides andthe Leaders of the Mekong region countries called for technicalsupport of Japan to advance universal health coverage and improvehealth care system governance. The Leaders decided to strengthencooperation in the field of communicable diseases, maternal and childhealthcare, and preventive healthcare. The Leaders of the Mekongregion countries also welcomed Japan ’s medical technologies andservices and human resource development such as nursing to providebetter health service in the region.
b. Actions and measures for environmental and climate change issues
The Leaders welcomed that, at the 2nd Green Mekong Forum co-hosted byThailand and Japan in Bangkok in October 2013, participants from notonly government agencies but also local government and the privatesector shared experiences and exchanged views on areas of cooperationarticulated in the“Action Plan for ‘A Decade toward the Green Mekong’Initiative”.
The Leader of Japan expressed hiscommitment that Japan , on the basis of the "Proactive DiplomaticStrategy for Countering Global Warming" announced at the 19th Conferenceof the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on ClimateChange in Warsaw (COP19), will support developing countries in the fieldof climate change, taking into consideration the needs in the future.The Leaders of the Mekong region countries welcomed Japan ’sannouncement.
Regarding the 2nd East Asia Low CarbonGrowth Partnership Dialogue in Tokyo in May 2013, the Leader ofJapan appreciated the contribution to the discussions and from theMekong region countries including Cambodia serving as co-chair.
Regarding the Joint Crediting Mechanism, the Leader of Japan welcomedthat such mechanism was already established with Vietnam and LaoPDR respectively, and announced Japan ’s intention to continue topromote this effort in the Mekong region.
TheLeaders reaffirmed the vital importance of sustainable management anddevelopment of water and related resources of the Mekong River andcontinue to cooperate with local and international organizations, inparticular the Mekong River Commission (MRC) in this regard. To thisend, the MRC was encouraged to expedite the studies on sustainablemanagement and development of the Mekong River , including impactsby mainstream hydropower projects.
TheLeaders reaffirmed the continued cooperation in the utilizing of ICT forenvironmental issues and disaster risk reduction.
c. Actions and measures for disaster management cooperation
The Leaders welcomed the progress of disaster risk reductioncooperation between Japan and ASEAN and Japan’s support for floodwater,typhoon and cyclone damage in the Mekong region, and, bearing in mindrecent disasters in the Philippines, shared the view that Japan andMekong region countries will promote cooperation for disaster riskreduction including strengthening ASEAN Coordinating Center forHumanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Center) and disasterprevention agencies in each country.
The Leadersreached consensus to work together towards the Third World Conference onDisaster Risk Reduction to be held in Sendai , Japan in March 2015and the preceding regional meeting – the Sixth Asian MinisterialConference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) to be held in Bangkokin June 2014.
d. Action and implementation regarding food security
The Leaders welcomed the steady implementation of institutionaldevelopment of ASEAN + 3 Emergency Rice Reserve (APTERR) and confirmedthat APTERR played important role in the occasion of disaster relief inLao PDR and Philippines .
IV Assistance for Myanmar ’s efforts
The Leaders reiterated their commitment to support Myanmar ’songoing efforts to address various issues, including democratization,enhancement of the rule of law, economic reform, national reconciliationand development cooperation. The Leaders of the Mekong regioncountries appreciated Japan ’s support for Myanmar ’s efforts bycombining the public and private sectors’ strengths.
In this regard, the Leaders of the Mekong region countries welcomedJapan ’s announcement of the implementation of 91 billion JPY in ODAfor Myanmar by the end of fiscal year 2013.
The Leaders expressed confidence and support to Myanmar ’s leadership as the chair of ASEAN in 2014.
V Mekong Japan cooperation in 2014
The Leaders confirmed that the Sixth Mekong-Japan Summit will be heldon the occasion of the multilateral meeting in 2014 on a convenient dateby the co-chairs of Myanmar and Japan.-VNA
