PH Joins 34th ASEAN-Japan Forum in Vietnam
Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Affairs and ASEAN-Philippines National Secretariat Director-General Junever Mahilum-West (third from left), representing Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Policy and Philippine SOM Leader Enrique A. Manalo, joins the ASEAN-Japan Senior Officials and the ASEAN Deputy Secretary General at the 34th ASEAN-Japan Forum held in Hanoi, Vietnam on 3 June 2019. Vietnam’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dzung (seventh from left) and Japans’ Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeo Mori (sixth from left) co-chaired the meeting. (DFA-ASEAN Division V photo)
HANOI 13 June 2019 — The Philippines joined senior officials from ASEAN Member States, the ASEAN Deputy Secretary General in meeting with senior officials from Japan to discuss ASEAN-Japan Dialogue cooperation and regional and international concerns, such as maritime security and cooperation, counter-terrorism and transnational crimes, cybersecurity, entrepreneurial support, regional connectivity, active ageing, disaster management and environmental protection, and Indo-Pacific concept at the the 34th ASEAN-Japan Forum in Hanoi, Vietnam on 03 June 2019.
Vietnam, as country coordinator for ASEAN-Japan Dialogue Relations, hosted the Forum.
The Forum also provided an opportunity to follow through with the commitments made by the ASEAN and Japanese leaders in their Joint Statement at the ASEAN-Japan Summit in November 2018.
The inaugural ASEAN-Japan Day was held on 04 June 2019. Vietnamese Government Office Minister and Chairman Mai Tien Dzung, and Japanese Foreign Affairs Parliamentary Vice Minister Norikasu Suzuki delivered their opening remarks.
The holding of an annual ASEAN-Japan Day in an ASEAN Member State was first proposed by Japan in 2018 to further strengthen ASEAN-Japan Dialogue Relations and to enhance people-to-people exchanges.
This ASEAN-Japan Day in Hanoi consisted of a Photo Exhibition on “45 years of ASEAN-Japan Relations” followed by Symposia of four parallel discussion sessions on ASEAN-Japan Partnership; Smart Agriculture, Business and Investment Cooperation, Smart Cities- Development Models and Solutions, and Aging Population and New Business Opportunities. END
Assistant Secretary Mahilum-West delivers her intervention at the Forum. (DFA-ASEAN Division V photo)
Members of the Philippine delegation to the Forum, which include (from left) DFA-ASEAN Affairs Director for External Relations Reginald Bernabe, Assistant Secretary Mahilum-West, Philippine Embassy Officials, CDA,a.i. Cynthia Pelayo, and Third Secretary and Vice Consul Jose Santiago Olaguera. (DFA-ASEAN Division V photo)
Assistant Secretary Mahilum-West (second from right ) joins Vietnamese Government’s Office Minister and Chairman Mai Tien Dzung (ninth from the right), and Japanese Foreign Affairs Parliamentary Vice Minister Norizaku Suzuki (eighth from the right) together with ASEAN, Japanese and Vietnamese Senior officials at the Opening Ceremony photo of the Inaugural ASEAN-Japan Day held at The Sheraton Hotel, Hanoi. (DFA-ASEAN Division V photo)
Assistant Secretary Mahilum-West and Director Bernabe, together with Japanese Senior Deputy Foreign Minister and SOM Leader Takeo Mori at the Photo Exhibit of the ASEAN-Japan Day. (DFA-ASEAN Division V photo)