Japan vowed Tuesday Feb. 18th to continue assisting five Southeast Asian countries along the Mekong River in building infrastructure and developing the regional economy towards the establishment of a more integrated ASEAN Economic Community by the end of 2015. Parliamentary Senior Vice Foreign Minister Norio Mitsuya
Japan vowed Tuesday Feb. 18th to continue assisting five Southeast Asian countries along the Mekong River in building infrastructure and developing the regional economy towards the establishment of a more integrated ASEAN Economic Community by the end of 2015.
Parliamentary Senior Vice Foreign Minister Norio Mitsuya said at a Japan-Mekong forum in Tokyo that Japan will help create the envisaged community by "enhancing connectivity and reducing development gaps" between more developed states such as Singapore and less developed ones including Myanmar.
"In addition, Japan will further strengthen assistance in so-called `soft' infrastructure such as institution- and capacity-building for managing so-called 'hard' infrastructure," Mr Mitsuya said. "Japan's support to the Mekong region...is dictated by a long-term perspective for the development of individual countries and the region at large."
The five Mekong states -- Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam -- form the Association of Southeast Asian Nations with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.
Mr Mitsuya said Japan expects economic activities and people-to-people exchanges between Japan and the Mekong region to expand after Tokyo eased visa requirements for all Mekong countries last year.
Japan also agreed with Cambodia and Laos last year to launch bilateral negotiations on direct flight services, while signing an investment pact with Myanmar in December.
The meeting focuses on Japan-Mekong cooperation in the three areas of infrastructure and special economic zones, health and medicine, and tourism.
Its outcome will be reported to a foreign ministerial meeting and a summit of Japan and the Mekong states slated for later this year, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.