Press Releases

1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will host the “Public-Private Cooperation in the Mekong Region, The Fifth Meeting” on February 19 (Thur.) in Tokyo. In this meeting, Mr. Minoru Kiuchi, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, H.E. Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of the Kingdom of Cambodia (to be arranged), and Mr. Yoichi Kobayashi, Chairman of the Japan-Mekong Business Cooperation Committee, Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, will deliver opening remarks. Relevant governmental agencies, private companies and academic organizations of both Japan and the Mekong region (Cambodia, the Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam) will also be invited.

2. In the meeting this year, discussions will mainly be focused on the “Investment Environment,” “Infrastructure,” and “Agriculture and Food Related Industry” in the Mekong region. The outcome of the meeting will be reported at the Seventh Mekong-Japan Summit Meeting to be held on July 4 (Sat.) in Tokyo.

3. Holding of this forum was agreed on in the First Mekong-Japan Summit Meeting in November 2009. This meeting aims to deepen dialogues and cooperation between both public and private sectors of Japan and the Mekong countries for mutually beneficial economic development as part of Japan-Mekong cooperation. Issues of interest to both public and private sectors of Japan and the Mekong countries, including the economy, will be discussed and relevant information will be shared to realize concrete efforts.