Asean-Japan Summit to be held this December

HIROSHIMA, Japan - A summit to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Asean-Japan friendship and cooperation will be held in Tokyo, Japan, this December.

The Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Public Affairs, Director of Global Communications, at the Prime Minister’s Office, Adachi Hideaki, hoped Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will attend the upcoming summit.

"This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Asean-Japan friendship and cooperation and Japan will host the summit in December in Tokyo. So, I hope the Malaysian Prime Minister will be there as well", he said in an exclusive interview with Bernama TV recently in Hiroshima.

To celebrate the milestone of Asean-Japan relations, Asean and Japan agreed to designate the year 2023 as the 50th Year of Asean-Japan Friendship and Cooperation themed "Golden Friendship, Golden Opportunity".

The summit also focuses on Asean Member States to encourage their people-to-people exchanges and hold various commemorative events and exchange programmes throughout the year - both in Asean and Japan.

The upcoming summit would be held in December this year and is expected to be joined by all Asean leaders.

Asean-Japan relations have made remarkable progress since 1973.

To date, Japan has made every effort to build up "heart to heart" relations of mutual confidence and trust with the Asean Member States while committing itself as an equal partner to building peace and prosperity in the region. - BERNAMA