Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Praises Indonesia's Leadership As Chair Of ASEAN 2023

JAKARTA - Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (Wamenlu) Japan Tsuji Kiyoto praised Indonesia's leadership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) during 2023.

"I salute Minister Retno Marsudi and the Indonesian government for their extraordinary leadership as chairman of ASEAN for this year," said Tsuji in his remarks when inaugurating the new building of the Indonesian Embassy (KBRI) Tokyo, Friday, December 15, which was confiscated by Antara.

He added that Prime Minister (PM) Kishida and President Joko Widodo will become joint leaders for the ASEAN-Japan Special Summit starting next Saturday.

"I hope that the new vision of ASEAN-Japan cooperation will be announced under the leadership of our two leaders," he said.

He assessed that relations between the two countries have intensified in one year which coincided with 65 years of diplomatic relations between Japan and Indonesia.

The historic day was celebrated with various activities that strengthened relations between the two countries, starting from Retno's visit to Japan in March, and President Joko Widodo's presence at the G7 Summit in Japan.

Furthermore, Prime Minister Kishida visited Indonesia in September to attend the ASEAN Summit, while Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Queen Masako visited Indonesia in June, which became the first friendly visit since Naruhito was named the Japanese emperor.

In the fall of this year, Indonesia and Japan have increased their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

"Now, we can end the year when relations between these two countries develop rapidly," he said.

Tsuji hopes that the relations between Japan-Indonesia and Japan-ASEAN will continue to grow, and hopes that all parties will be healthy and successful.

ASEAN-Japan agreed to form a comprehensive strategic partnership in the Joint-Statusment on the Establishment of the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Partnership at the 26th ASEAN-Japan Summit in Jakarta, last September.

There are three documents in the joint statement, namely reports on progress in the implementation of the ASEAN-Japan vision plan; a 10-year work plan in the field of cyber connectivity, human resource development and innovation; as well as the ASEAN-Japan partnership economy vision involving private parties, business communities and academics.

In addition, both parties agreed to encourage cooperation in the development of green infrastructure, connectivity, energy transition and the digital economy.

Japan has submitted a 100 million US dollar funding commitment (Rp1.6 trillion) to support the implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) 3.0.