TOKYO, Dec 17 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has proposed four areas of cooperation to expand and deepen collaboration within Asean to empower its people to be resilient and better able to address future challenges.
He pointed out to Asean leaders and host Japan during the Asean-Japan Commemorative Summit today that the four areas are Public Health, Climate Action, Disaster Management, and People-to-People exchanges.
Drawing from the Covid-19 pandemic lessons, Asean and Japan must remain vigilant against future health crises.
In this respect, as the region moves towards operationalising the Asean Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases, Malaysia proposes that Asean Member States and Japan place researchers at the Centre.
“We should bring together researchers from diverse backgrounds, experience and know-how to form a team that could help better address future health challenges,” Anwar said during the third agenda, themed ‘Heart to Heart Partners Across Generations’.
On climate action, Asean and Japan should continue to work closely to advance regional and national mitigation and adaptation strategies.
“Delaying these risks will worsen the irreversible impact of climate change, a reality already experienced by some,” he said.
Asean and Japan should seize on the momentous outcome of COP28, especially on the Global Stocktake, Global Goal on Adaptation and the loss and damage fund.
“I welcome (Japan) Prime Minister (Fumio) Kishida’s early commitment of US$10 million (RM46.7 million) for the latter, and I encourage Japan to do more in assisting developing countries with energy transition in a just, orderly and equitable manner,” Anwar said.
The region has seen a surge in extreme weather events, from droughts to floods and landslides, which called for the third point — disaster management.
He said this is why Malaysia values Japan’s contribution to operationalising the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre).
Anwar also called for deeper collaboration with Japan in ongoing efforts to establish Permanent Disaster Relief Centres, capitalising on Japan’s extensive experience and expertise in Disaster Risk Reduction.
In bringing the people of the region together, Malaysia appreciated Japan’s initiatives, like JENESYS1 (Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths), which helped to bridge cultural divides and foster a sense of shared identity.
It is important the JENESYS programme returned to its face-to-face format for meaningful interactions among our students and youths.
On Malaysia’s part, he said the country will encourage students from all Asean Member States to choose Japan’s University of Tsukuba’s branch campus in Malaysia to pursue their tertiary education.
Malaysia welcomes Japan’s new “Partnership to Cocreate a Future with the Next Generation” initiative.
Following these proposals, the leaders adopted a vision statement and an implementation plan that focused on future cooperation under the theme of co-creation, concluding the summit. The commemorative summit was co-chaired by Kishida, as the host, and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
— Bernama
