Leaders to the 5th Mekong-Japan Summit, Tokyo, December 14, 2013 - Photo: VGP

The leaders expressed their pleasures at the fine developments of the “partnership for common prosperity” between Japan and GMS nations, namely Cambodia, Laos, Viet Nam, Myanmar and Thailand.

Both sides have conducted a series of joint projects in various areas, ranging from infrastructure development, trade and investment facilitation, environmental protection to human resource training.

The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing regional connectivity, especially through the development of economic corridors, improvement of business environment, development of regional supply chains, and acceleration of public-private partnership.

They also agreed to boost healthcare cooperation, especially preventive medicine, infectious disease prevention, and technological application.

The leaders underscored the vital importance of sustainable management and development of water resources and related resources of Mekong river. ASEAN leaders welcomed Japan’s continued commitment to supporting the regional countries to cope with climate change and risks caused by natural disasters.

Both sides reaffirmed their determination to beef up the bilateral cooperation for prosperity, stability and sustainable development of the Mekong region.

Speaking at the Summit, PM Nguyen Tan Dung voiced his strong support for Mekong-Japan cooperation and spoke highly of the outcomes of the implementation of the Tokyo Strategy.

Regarding the future orientations, PM Dung stressed the importance of expanding regional connectivity through the improvement of infrastructure development.

He also emphasized the necessity of cooperation in climate change response, environmental protection, and Mekong river water resource management towards the common target of sustainable and long-term development in the region.

PM Dung asked the relevant parties to coordinate closely to quickly finalize the Mekong River Commission’s studies on development and management of the river, including the impacts of hydropower dam projects .

The next Mekong-Japan Summit is expected to be held in Myanmar in 2014./.

By Hai Minh