(VOVWORLD) - Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is in Japan for the 10th Mekong-Japan summit to show Vietnam’s respect for the cooperation mechanism and boost the Vietnam-Japan strategic partnership.
 Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (Photo: Quang Hieu/VGP) |
The Mekong-Japan Summit marks 10 years of the cooperation mechanism and 3 years of the Tokyo Strategy, with important achievements in infrastructure building, environmental protection, disaster management, climate change response, and people-to-people exchanges.
Effective cooperation mechanism
At the 12th ASEAN Summit in the Philippines in 2007, Japan proposed the establishment of a Mekong-Japan cooperation mechanism focused on promoting sub-regional economic integration, expanding trade, and pursuing shared goals in poverty reduction, disease control, and environmental protection.
Japan and Mekong countries including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam have held 9 summits and 11 Economic Ministers’ Meetings and reached several cooperative agreements. The two sides are implementing the 2015 Tokyo Strategy and the Mekong-Japan Action Program to achieve quality growth and promote sustainable and equal development in the Mekong Sub-region. At the 7th Mekong-Japan Summit in 2015, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced 6.7 billion USD worth of ODA to help Mekong Sub-region countries realize the 2015 Tokyo Strategy, and 110 billion USD in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank to fund innovative infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region.
The 10th Mekong-Japan summit is expected to approve the 2018 Tokyo Cooperation Strategy for cooperation until 2021. Leaders will also discuss lessons learned from 10 years of cooperation and future opportunities and challenges.
Vietnam’s active role in Mekong-Japan cooperation
Since the Mekong-Japan cooperation mechanism was established, Vietnam has demonstrated its responsibility and dynamism and affirmed its role in the mechanism. Vietnam is ready to work with Japan and other countries to devise long-term cooperation programs to promote development and narrow development gaps between Mekong Sub-region countries.
Vietnam has promoted initiatives to strengthen links between economic corridors in the Mekong Sub-region through multi-modal transportation and the region’s connectivity with surrounding areas. On the occasion, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will pay a visit to Japan to strengthen the Vietnam-Japan strategic partnership.