CHAIRMAN'S PRESS STATEMENT
The Japan-ASEAN Bilateral Meeting on ICT Cooperation

15 September 2001
Tokyo, Japan

The Informal Meeting on ICT Cooperation, gathering officials and businesspersons of Japan, ASEAN countries and related organisations, was held in Tokyo, on 15 September 2001.

Background

This Meeting was proposed by the Japanese Government, based on the understanding that ICT Cooperation is one of the tasks of the highest priority between Japan and ASEAN.

ICT cooperation, which encompasses variety of fields and matters, has great effect and concerns a wide range of stakeholders from both the public officials and private circles. For the Japanese side, one of the objectives of this Meeting was to provide a forum for relevant stakeholders to share information, to reconfirm the importance of their respective cooperations from a general perspective, and to give impetus for promotion of further cooperation.

Cooperative relations have already been established between Japan and ASEAN through various processes such as consultations between the Foreign Ministries of both sides including Foreign Ministers' meetings, and consultations between the Economic Ministries of both sides including Economic Ministers' meetings. Partnership is also being constructed between Japan and ASEAN Secretariat, e-ASEAN Working Group and e-ASEAN Task Force respectively. In addition, cooperation between the Ministries in charge of Telecommunications policies is expected to commence in the future.

Participants

Officials of the Japanese Government, JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), JBIC (Japan Bank for International Cooperation), the ASEAN countries and ASEAN Secretariat, as well as members of the e-ASEAN Task Force and officials of its secretariat, and the chair of the e-ASEAN Working Group, participated in the Meeting as well as businesspersons working in ICT-related industry in Japan and ASEAN. Representatives of ASEAN-Japan Centre, the Asian Development Bank and the UNDP participated as observers.

Mr. Chihiro Atsumi, Deputy Director-General, Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, chaired the Meeting.

Summary of the discussion

Intergovernmental cooperation

ASEAN side explained the state of ICT utilization and the outlook for ICT development in each ASEAN country. In addition, the ASEAN side presented information and views on how it hopes to cooperate with Japan in the ICT field. In particular, the ASEAN side explained the contents of the e-ASEAN Initiative and projects, including e-Farmers project, e-readiness study and e-government proposals. The Japanese side welcomed the efforts made by the ASEAN side.

Japanese side explained Japan's ICT cooperation strategy as well as the first year's implementation of the "Comprehensive Cooperation Package to Address the International Digital Divide" announced last year, including;
i) the project financed by OOF (Other Official Flows), such as export loans and investment loans by JBIC for the promotion of business-oriented cooperation, and
ii) ICT cooperation projects by ODA (Official Development Assistance).

The Japanese Government explained concrete projects of Cooperation Package implemented in each area of the four pillar, namely, (i) the fields of policy and institution building, (ii) human resources development, (iii) infrastructure development and (iv) use of ICT in development assistance. It stressed that ICT must be integrated to the wider development agenda, such as education, poverty alleviation and health. It also explained the cooperative measures to be taken between Japan and ASEAN concerning further development of ICT in Asia. Examples of those measures are e-learning, remote education, IPv6, 3G, common scheme of skill standards for IT engineers and PKI forum.

It was also pointed out that the Japanese Government is promoting ICT cooperation projects in concert with international organizations such as ASEAN-Japan Centre, UNDP, World Bank, ADB, UNESCO and ESCAP.

The Japanese Government also expressed its intention to provide assistance to the ASEAN Secretariat in renovating its web site, responding to the request by ASEAN side.

At the same time, the Japanese Government emphasised the importance of efficient and effective implementation of cooperation projects, taking into account the current financial climate.

The ASEAN side expressed its gratitude to the Japanese Government for the above-mentioned efforts and its hopes to further promote cooperation between ASEAN and Japan in areas which could be supported by Japan's "Comprehensive Cooperation Package to Address the International Digital Divide".

Efforts to bridge the digital divide within the ASEAN region

The participants exchanged their views on how to bridge the digital divide within the ASEAN region, taking into account the importance of the "Initiative for ASEAN Integration" (IAI).

The representatives of ASEAN member countries explained the basic ICT policies taken in each country. The ASEAN side further explained the efforts made by ASEAN as a whole. The Japanese Government reaffirmed the importance of effective use of ICT in the economic development efforts of these countries and expressed its intention to continue extending cooperation to the extent possible. The ASEAN side welcomed this statement.

Business cooperation and trends in ICT-related industry

Japanese businesspersons explained the activities of GBDe (Global Business Dialogue on e-Commerce), including their expectations to promote e-Government and invited business circles of ASEAN countries to GBDe activities.

Japanese businesspersons also explained the trends in ICT related industry in Japan, especially those trends concerning its relations with ASEAN countries. The Japanese Government explained its views on these trends.

It was pointed out that Japanese investments to ASEAN countries in the field of ICT had not grown as expected, due to the continuation of worldwide recession and intense competition in Asia under globalization.

The participants emphasized the necessity to improve the investment environment in ASEAN countries, in order to further promote Japan-ASEAN industrial cooperation in the context of the worldwide slowdown of ICT related industry. More concretely, they pointed out potential advantages of establishing a larger ASEAN economic area through the implementation of ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and ASEAN Investment Area (AIA), hereby revitalising ICT related industry. They also pointed out the necessity of taking various measures to facilitate trade and investments, and thus to strengthen competitiveness of ASEAN industry and Japan-ASEAN business cooperation.

Cooperation through international organizations

ASEAN-Japan Centre, UNDP and ADB explained their projects in the area of ICT utilization, including projects funded by the Japanese Government.

Consultation and cooperation in the future

Both sides appreciated the usefulness of the Meeting for stocktaking and for making joint strategy for cooperation. Both sides agreed to further continue to promote cooperation in the ICT field, using various channels between Japan and ASEAN.

Views were expressed that following areas are especially important for future cooperation:

• Policy and Institution Building
• Information Infrastructure
• Human Resources Development
• E-Government
• E-Society
• content
• E-Commerce
• Promotion/Facilitation of Trade and Investment