Message from Prime Minister Hashimoto to the People of Singapore

A Prosperous, Stable, and Caring Future for All

Dear People of Singapore,

It is indeed a pleasure to be able to start the New Year by visiting your country as you prepare to mark the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Since its establishment in 1967, the ASEAN has played a vital role in promoting political stability and economic prosperity throughout the region. Japan as well has worked to contribute to peace and prosperity in Asia. In recent decades, this heart-to-heart cooperation with our neighbors has built the foundation that has made the entire region a world-class center of economic growth. The unmistakable success of ASEAN nations over the past 30 years is a source of great happiness for me and for all Japanese.

I believe that the coming years will give us many opportunities to work together even more closely: as partners to promote regional cooperation, and as friends to create an even more prosperous, stable, and mutually caring future for the entire region. Working together, we can build a better world for the next generation and beyond. I am looking forward with great pleasure to my visit to your country.

Ryutaro Hashimoto
Prime Minister of Japan

Participants from Southeast Asia
receive training from a Japanese
expert at the Singapore
Polytechnic Food Packaging
Course.

Working Together for Regional Prosperity

The Japan-Singapore Partnership Program is just one example of the kind of meaningful exchange we hope to promote. Inaugurated in 1994, the Japan-Singapore Partnership Program was conceived as an ongoing cooperative effort to strengthen the growing economies of Asia. As partners in the project, Singapore and Japan have agreed to contribute human resources, technology, and funding to boost the skills and capabilities of Asian industry. The project encompasses Singapore-based research and training courses, dispatch of specialists, technicians and volunteers, and transfer of targeted technology to encourage growth throughout the region.

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