The Common Agenda for Cooperation in Global Perspective was launched in July 1993 as part of the United States-Japan Framework for a New Economic Partnership. Under the Common Agenda, the world's two largest economies are joining together to respond to some of the world's most pressing global challenges. In the Common Agenda's eighteen-month lifetime, the two Governments have begun to make the Common Agenda's original goal a reality, designing and implementing nineteen Common Agenda initiatives involving a wide range of global issues and bilateral projects of potentially global application, as described below.
Exploding population growth presents a major challenge toraising the developing world's standard of living and protecting the world's environment. In a similar fashion, the HIV/AIDS pandemic poses a threat to the development of countries around the world. To enable countries to pursue sustainable development, the Governments of the U.S. and Japan launched the Common Agenda's program on population and HIV/AIDS.
In support of this initiative, the Government of Japan plans to expand its official development assistance in the field to approximately $3 billion over seven years (FY 1994-FY 2000), representing an order of magnitude increase in Japan's population and HIV/AIDS-related programs. The U.S. government expects its contribution in this area to continue at a high level, totalling approximately $9 billion over the same seven-year period. The Governments of the U.S. and Japan welcome similar contributions from other donor nations and organizations.
The two Governments have already begun implementing thisinitiative. Japanese Project Formulation Teams have already consulted with U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) expertsin the Philippines, Indonesia, Egypt, and Kenya, laying the groundwork for future cooperation. Similar efforts will be made in the other priority countries: Ghana and India. The Governments of the U.S. and Japan have also successfully coordinated assistance to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in recipient countries. In support of this initiative's goals, the two Governmentscooperated closely to ensure the success of the Tenth International Conference on AIDS, held in Yokohama in August 1994, and the success of the AIDS Summit held in Paris in December 1994. A similar spirit of cooperation contributed to the success of the September 1994 International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo.
Children's Health
The Children's Health Initiative will focus on eradication of poliomyelitis, vaccines and immunization programs, recognizing that the progress of these programs greatly improves the health of children around the world.
The Governments of the U.S. and Japan intend to pursue the WHO goal of the eradication of poliomyelitis in the Western Pacific in 1995 and worldwide by the year 2000. The first priority region for assistance is the Western Pacific Region and the next is the South East Asia Region, as defined in the WHO. The U.S. and Japan are also cooperating in support of the Children's Vaccine Initiative (CVI). This Common Agenda Initiative includes: coordination of field support activities; assistance for vaccine availability, production and quality control; and support for vaccine research and development.
The initial phase of assistance for vaccines and immunization programs will focus on Asian countries, including joint and/or collaborative activities in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Taking advantage of the multidonor planning effort currently underway in Africa, both the U.S. and Japan will consider the addition of other priority countries in this region. In addition, Japan and the U.S. are studying the possibility of sending a joint U.S.-Japan team to Bangladesh to assess programming opportunities in JFY 1995, similar to the teams dispatched to the Philippines and Indonesia in November and December 1994.
Narcotics
The production and trade of illegal narcotics is a threat to the social, economic, and political well-being of societies in developed and developing countries alike. The Governments of the U.S. and Japan are cooperating on countering both the supply and demand of narcotics, including cooperation in maritime enforcement, money laundering, strengthening NGOs, demand reduction, finding alternatives to narcotics production in developing countries, and chemical controls. In addition to acting bilaterally, the Governments of the U.S. and Japan are coordinating their respective efforts in such counter-narcotic multilateral institutions as the Colombo Plan, the Dublin Group and mini-Dublin Groups, and the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP).
Coral Reefs
Coral Reefs represent an important marine ecosystem, beingrich in biodiversity as well as the source of income for thetourism and fishing industries. To encourage the sustainable use of this resource, the Governments of the U.S. and Japan, together with other partners, will sponsor an international coral reef workshop to be held in the Philippines in May 1995. The goal of the workshop will be to set priorities for action and a strategy for long term sustainable implementation.
The two Governments are also discussing joint activities insupport of the International Coral Reef Initiative. Theseactivities will focus on research and monitoring, sustainablemanagement, and capacity building.
Regional Networks/Institutes for Global Change Research
The Governments of the U.S. and Japan seek to advance regional cooperation in global change research through the system of regional networks/institutes for global change research which is now being planned and developed. This system includes the Asia-Pacific Network on Global Change Research (APN); the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI); and the European Network for Research in Global Change (ENRICH) which is reaching out to Central and Eastern Europe and to Africa. Japan is one of the leading countries in the planning and development for the APN, with cooperation from the U.S. and the countries concerned of Asia and the Pacific. The U.S. is leading the planning and development for the IAI, with cooperation from Japan and the countries of the Americas. Through this initiative, the two Governments can jointly provide substantive scientific and management leadership for the above-mentioned global system, developing effective coordination among these efforts.
Development Assistance for the Environment
Under the Common Agenda, the Governments of the U.S. and Japan coordinate environment-related development assistance activities. One example of the cooperation in this area is the jointly planned biodiversity conservation program in Indonesia, which will start operation in 1995.
The Governments of the U.S. and Japan have also cooperated in their support for NGOs working in the field of environmental conservation in the developing world, including coordinated funding to the Parks in Peril Program in Latin America.
The two Governments have also established a Joint Committeeto coordinate project development for environmental assistanceto Central and Eastern European countries. The U.S. and Japan have already sent joint project evaluation teams to Lithuania and the Slovak Republic. The Government of Japan intends to finance environmental projects in Central and Eastern European countries using untied loans. The amount could reach $1 billion. The Government of the U.S. also intends to mobilize significant resources through this initiative.
Environment Policy Dialogue
The Environment Policy Dialogue, the mechanism through which the U.S. and Japan coordinate common approaches on international environment issues, held its third session in November 1994. The talks covered a wide range of international environmental and sustainable development issues of mutual concern. Topics included the Climate Change, Biodiversity and Basel Conventions, implementation of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit's Agenda 21 "blueprint" for sustainable development, and UN institutional environmental activities.
The two Governments decided to work closely together to ensure the success of upcoming international climate meetings, including the first Conference of Parties to the Climate Change Convention (March 1995 in Berlin). They also planned to continue close bilateral cooperation and consultation in preparation for and during various upcoming multilateral meetings and negotiations dealing with environment and conservation issues in 1995.
Forests
Reflecting their concern about the depletion of the world'sforests and the importance of forests to the preservation of the world's biodiversity, the Governments of the U.S. and Japan will advance the sustainable use of forests. Specifically, the U.S. and Japan are cooperating in support of the InternationalTropical Timber Organization (ITTO). The two Governments arealso establishing a forest management training center in thePhilippines to help protect 25,000 acres of lowland rain forest, as well as a program in Papua New Guinea to promote income alternatives and empower local communities to preserve endangered forests. Moreover, the two Governments intend to continue to cooperate with other interested countries to develop internationally-agreed criteria and indicators for the conservation and sustainable management of temperate and boreal forests.
Oceans
The Governments of the U.S. and Japan are coordinating their approach to the high-priority issue of the dumping of radioactive wastes in the ocean. As part of this effort, Japan and Russia have agreed to establish a liquid radioactive waste processing facility in Vladivostok. The U.S. and Russia have announced plans to expand and upgrade the liquid radioactive waste processing facility in Murmansk.
Through the Common Agenda's Oceans dialogue, the two Governments are improving their coordination in additional ocean-related areas, including maritime scientific research such as the Pacific Ocean Observation and Research Program and the Law of the Sea.
Global Observation Information Network
The objective of the Global Observation Information Network(GOIN) is to promote the use of global observation data in fields such as global change research, disaster and environmentmonitoring, and operational environmental prediction and warning. The GOIN will accomplish this by achieving comprehensive connectivity and interoperability among existing and planned networks for global observation data, including satellite and in situ data, in each country and between the U.S. and Japan. The two Governments have decided to make best efforts to conclude the GOIN implementation plan and set up a prototype demonstration using existing and developing networks by June 1995. The GOIN, which is being developed between the two countries, may become a prototype for broader networking among Earth observation agencies in the U.S., Japan and Europe.
Conservation
The Governments of the U.S. and Japan are working together to strengthen the operations of the Ramsar Convention on wetlands and the World Heritage Convention. In regard to wetlands, the Governments of the U.S. and Japan are coordinating training of developing country experts in wetlands management, an approach consistently cited as a high priority at Ramsar meetings. In October 1994, the Government of the U.S. signed an agreement with the Ramsar Secretariat to establish wetlands training programs in the Western Hemisphere for the next three years. The Government of Japan is now developing a training course in Kushiro, Japan, in cooperation with the preparation committee for the Kushiro Wetland Center. The two Governments plan to make best efforts to promote these training courses.
World heritage experts of both Governments are exploring efforts to work together to preserve internationally designated World Heritage Sites, such as the Marine National Park at Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea, the philippines.
Bilateral Cooperation on Advanced Technology
Civil Industrial Technology
On June 8, 1994, the U.S. Department of Commerce and theMinistry of International Trade and Industry of Japan (MITI)signed an implementing arrangement under the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Japan on Cooperation in Research and Development in Science and Technology (UJSTA), which calls for a comprehensive set of joint cooperative activities in the development and dissemination of precompetitive technologies, including joint R&D and information exchanges. Implementation is now underway. Three principles govern cooperative activities: activities must be of positive value to the competitiveness of U.S. and Japanese industry as well as to the development of the world economy as a whole; topics must be mutually beneficial and precompetitive; and cooperative activities should be structured to ensure the success of the activity, including the possibility of private sector participation. So far under this initiative, both sides have exchanged study missions, begun the exchange of technical data, and begun plans for a co-sponsored conference in Nashville on March 10, 1995.
National Information Infrastructure
On November 21 and 22, 1994, the U.S. hosted the U.S.-JapanBilateral Consultations on National Information Infrastructure (NII) Initiatives under the Common Agenda For Cooperation In Global Perspective. The consultations consisted of government-private sector dialogues and a government-government consultation.
In addition to discussing cooperation in multilateral fora, the relevant agencies representing the two Governments at the conference discussed several options for bilateral technical cooperation. The two Governments also discussed cooperation on the establishment of a Global Information Infrastructure (GII).
Transportation Technology
On October 26 and 27, 1994, the first experts meeting was held under the Implementing Arrangement signed by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Ministry of Transport of Japan under the UJSTA. They identified seven priority areas for cooperation: methods of evaluating new designs of tankers, including double hull tanker design for oil-spill prevention; marine exhaust emissions; high speed rail transportation; magnetic levitation trains; advanced tunneling technology; transport measures for the mobility handicapped; and intermodal uses for automatic transportation equipment identification systems.
Environmental and Energy-efficient Technologies
Technology plays a key role in studying and addressing global warming and ozone depletion and other environmental problems. In light of this fact, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Japan(MITI) settled on a CO2 Sequestration Technology Implementing Plan in September 1994. The specific content of the plan, which will cover information exchange, cooperation between researchers, and joint research projects, will be decided by July 1995. MITI and the U.S. Environment Protection Agency(EPA) concluded under the UJSTA an Implementing Arrangement in February 1994 regarding Research and Development of Innovative Environmental Technologies and are now discussing a plan outlining specific research projects.
In November 1994, the U.S. Geological Survey(USGS) and the Geographical Survey Institute of Japan(GSI) participated in the United Nations Environmental Programme-sponsored meeting in Bangkok to develop and decide on the prioritization of global data collection schemes. Also in November in Izumo, Japan, the USGS played a role in the GSI-organized meeting on the promotion of the Global Mapping development. The GSI is further participating in the USGS's global elevation data preparation project as part of Global Mapping.
Road Technology and Disaster Prevention
In September 1994, officials from the U.S. Federal HighwayAdministration and the Ministry of Construction of Japan heldtheir third workshop on highway engineering. The second jointtask group meeting on intelligent vehicle highway systems (IVHS), a major field of cooperation, was held in November.
In regard to Disaster Prevention, cooperative damage investigations were conducted after the July 1993 Hokkaido-Nansei-Oki and the January 1994 Northridge earthquakes. The two Governments continue to expand cooperation on disaster-safe buildings, bridges, and roads.
Developing Human Resources
Manufacturing Technology Fellowships
The Manufacturing Technology Fellowship (MTF) program offers U.S. private-sector engineers the opportunity to work side-by-side with counterparts in Japanese factories. The unique opportunity for interpersonal contact offered by this program promotes mutual understanding and opens channels of communication between the industrial sectors of the U.S. and Japan. The program's second group of fellows arrived in October 1994; to date, 42 U.S. fellows have travelled to Japan under this program.
Labor Exchanges
The two Governments co-sponsored a symposium on human resource development in March 1994 in Washington, which was attended by officials of the U.S. Department of Labor, the Ministry of Labor of Japan, and representatives of labor, management, and academia. A second symposium to be held in Japan in April 1995 is now under consideration.