[Title] Joint Statement of the Second Mekong - Japan Summit
1. We, the Heads of the Governments of Japan, the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Union of Myanmar, the Kingdom of Thailand and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, met in Hanoi, Viet Nam on 29 October 2010, for the Second Mekong-Japan Summit.
2. We took note with deep satisfaction that the relationship and cooperation between the Mekong region countries and Japan gained remarkable achievements in various fields such as political and economic areas as well as development cooperation for the past several years especially since the First Mekong-Japan Summit in November 2009 in Tokyo. We welcomed and appreciated the consultations and cooperative efforts of relevant ministries to further enhance Japan-Mekong relationship, which have been shown at the 3rd Mekong-Japan Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Ha Noi on 21 July 2010, and the 2nd Mekong- Japan Economic Ministers' Meeting in Da Nang on 26 August 2010.
3. We welcomed the significant progress of the implementation of the "Tokyo Declaration" and "Mekong-Japan Action Plan 63" and other initiatives proposed by the Mekong region countries since the First Mekong-Japan Summit and determined to enhance the cooperation. We also exchanged views on regional and international issues of common concern. We reinforced our commitment to continue the cooperation for peace, development and prosperity of the Mekong region as well as of East Asia.
4. The Mekong countries Leaders expressed their appreciation to Japan for her important and constructive role in the region, in particular for the development assistance from Japan; reaffirmed their common view that Japan is always considered as a long-standing, reliable and indispensable partner of the Mekong region and expressed their expectation that Japan would maintain her close cooperation with the Mekong region countries. Japanese Prime Minister reiterated that Japan will continue its commitment to join hands with the Mekong region countries to work toward the goals set at the First Mekong - Japan Summit, and also highly appraised the self-help efforts made by the Mekong region countries.
Mekong-Japan Cooperation for Comprehensive, Balanced and Sustainable Development of Mekong Sub - Region:
5. We shared the view that development in the Mekong region should be a model for development that reinforces regional integration, achieves sustainable development compatible with conservation of the environment and is beneficial for both the Mekong region countries and third countries.
6. We reaffirmed our determination to continue to use resources for the development of both hard and soft infrastructure in the Mekong region. In this context, we highly appreciated and adopted the "Mekong-Japan Economic and Industrial Cooperation Initiative (MJ-CI) Action Plan" which focuses on hard infrastructure, trade facilitation/logistics, , enhancement of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), supporting industries, entrepreneurship, service sector and new industrial sector based on the business recommendations from the business community. We recognized that "MJ-CI Action Plan" will promote business activities and narrow the development gap through resolving the "missing links" in the region under the "Action Plan 63". In addition, we welcomed the outcome of the Mekong-Japan International Conference on the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC) and the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC), co-hosted by Japan and Thailand in Bangkok in September 2010 and the Workshop on the improvement of EWEC in Tokyo, in which participants stressed the importance of addressing the soft infrastructure in addition to the hard infrastructure in order to make full use of the Economic Corridors and increase connectivity in the region.
7. We also noted the necessity to further promote cooperation between the public and private sectors that contributes to the effective implementation of cooperation projects in various areas. In this regard, the Mekong region countries and Japan held the first Mekong-Japan Industry and Government Dialogue in August 2010, in which business community reported recommendations to the governments for the formulation of the MJ-CI Action Plan. In addition, Japan has launched a new forum for the promotion of Public-Private Cooperation in the Mekong region and will hold the first Forum for the Promotion of Public-Private Cooperation, with the participation of the public and private sectors of Japan and the Mekong region countries later this year.
8. We recognized the importance of human resource development in the Mekong region countries for meeting the rising demand of economic development in the region. We took note of the initial development of the "Mekong - Japan Vocational Training Center Project". We also welcomed Thailand's readiness to support the implementation of the "Action Plan 63", especially in the field of human resource development where Thailand has high capacity.
9. We welcomed "A Decade Toward the Green Mekong" initiative and adopted its Action Plan and expressed strong expectation that Mekong-Japan cooperation on the environment conservation would be enhanced in order for the Mekong region to achieve a "Green Mekong" with lush greenery, rich biodiversity and resilience to natural disasters through various effective measures including reforestation.
10. We emphasized the need to promote cooperation on Mekong water resource management, the importance of which was stressed by the Vietnamese Leader at the first Mekong - Japan Summit. In this spirit, the Leaders highly appreciated Japan's decision to support Mekong River Commission (MRC)'s flood and drought projects.
11. We reaffirmed our commitment to cooperate actively in reducing poverty, narrowing economic disparities, enhancing food security and improving public health, to achieve well-balanced development in the Mekong region. We expressed our determination to cooperate with each other to provide support for the people easily affected by the economic slowdown and natural disasters. We also noted the necessity to foster regional industries, develop agricultural sector and socio-economic sector such as primary health and primary education. In this context, the Prime Minister of Japan expressed Japan's willingness to continue the assistance to the development of the "CLV Development Triangle". Leaders of the Mekong region countries requested cooperation of Japan for CLMV and ACMECS projects.
12. We welcomed fruitful outcomes of people-to-people exchanges from the grass-roots to the most senior levels in broad areas such as politics, security, economy, culture, tourism and youth exchange. We appreciated Viet Nam for hosting the Mekong-Japan Tourism and Culture days in Can Tho, in December, 2009, Laos for hosting the "Mekong-Japan Seminar on Women Parliamentarian" in Luang Prabang on 22 December 2009, and Japan for hosting the "Mekong-Japan Symposium on Ancient Capitals" in Nara City, Japan, on 22 June 2010. The Leaders of the Mekong region countries highly valued the implementation of the exchange program in which 30,000 people, including the youths, from the Mekong region countries would be invited to visit Japan during three years starting from 2010.
13. We welcomed the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity, adopted by the Leaders of ASEAN at the 17th ASEAN Summit. We emphasized the importance of the positive synergy of the Japan - Mekong cooperation and ASEAN Connectivity, and shared common view that infrastructure development in the Mekong countries should be harmonized with the infrastructure development in ASEAN and East Asia. The Prime Minister of Japan supported the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity and expressed Japan's willingness to continue the assistance to the Mekong region countries for the development of the physical, institutional and people-to-people connectivity.
Other Issues of Common Interest:
14. We reaffirmed our determination to enhance close cooperation on regional and global issues of common concern, and to deepen and broaden the existing Mekong-Japan cooperation to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the region.
15. We reaffirmed our support for the United Nations reform, and in this connection reiterated our support for early reform of the Security Council, including the expansion of both permanent and non-permanent membership categories and the improvement of working methods in order to make the Security Council more representative, legitimate, effective and responsive to the realities and needs of the international community in the 21st Century. The Japanese Prime Minister highly appreciated the Mekong region countries' continuous support for Japan to become a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council when its membership is expanded.
16. We reaffirmed our support for a complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in accordance with the September 2005 Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. We also emphasized the importance of addressing humanitarian concerns of the international community. We reiterated the need to fully comply with relevant UNSC resolutions.
17. We noted the importance of the general elections to be held in Myanmar on 7 November 2010 and expressed our hope that the general elections will be held in a free, fair, and open manner.
18. We agreed that maritime issues should be solved in a peaceful manner on the basis of international laws for peace, stability and development in the Asia Pacific region.
Mekong-Japan Related Meetings:
19. We shared the views that Mekong-Japan cooperation has made a considerable progress in the past years. We reaffirmed our commitment to further enhance our cooperation through related Mekong-Japan fora. We expressed our appreciation for Viet Nam's hospitality and excellent arrangements for the Second Mekong-Japan Summit and looked forward to convening the Third Mekong-Japan Summit in Indonesia in 2011, back to back with the 19th ASEAN Summit, as well as the Fourth Foreign Ministers' Meeting and the Third Economic Ministers' Meeting in 2011 in Indonesia to be organized by Japan.
Done in Ha Noi, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, on 29 October 2010.