At the ceremony. Addressing the event, Japanese
Foreign Minister Taro Kono expressed his delight at the achievements ASEAN
has obtained over the last five decades, adding that his country appreciates
ASEAN’s contributions to peace and prosperity in the region.
He stressed that Japan will
continue respecting ASEAN’s unity and central role and work closely with the
bloc in order to maintain regional prosperity and stability.
ASEAN has been an important partner
of Japan over the 44 years of their cooperative relationship, he noted,
adding that as the leader of Japan’s diplomatic sector, he will make all-out
efforts to foster Japan-ASEAN ties.
On behalf of the ambassadors of the
10 ASEAN countries in Japan, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Quoc Cuong listed
ASEAN’s major attainments in promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the
region. The bloc is known as a successful region with cooperation pillars of
regional peace and stability, economic connection, and institutional
building.
As Chair of the ASEAN Committee in
Tokyo, he thanked the Japanese Government and people for their support on
behalf of ASEAN and each member country. He expressed his belief that
bilateral relations will continue to thrive.
Japan and ASEAN set up relations in
1973, only six years after the grouping’s foundation. Japan currently ranks
third among trade partners and second among direct investors in ASEAN.
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Source: NDO