Abe vows Bt62-billion aid

Japan will provide more assistance to help Mekong countries enhance connectivity among themselves and with more advanced economies, as well as to narrow development gaps, the country’s Foreign Ministry said.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Laotian Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, Myanmar President Thein Sein, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Thai caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Niwatthumrong Boonsongpaisan at the Mekong Japan Summit in the Japanese capital on Saturday.

Meeting multilaterally was not enough for Abe, who spent most of his time yesterday meeting bilaterally with leaders from Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia to discuss in detail bilateral ties and cooperation between Tokyo and countries in the Mekong basin.

Niwatthumrong represented Thailand on behalf of caretaker Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was busy with domestic political affairs. While other Mekong leaders held bilateral meetings to pledge strong commitments on cooperation, the Thai representative simply made a courtesy call on Abe.

At their summit, the leaders of Japan and the Mekong nations conducted a mid-term review of the Tokyo Strategy 2012 to enhance Mekong connectivity and development cooperation, and to ensure human security and environmental sustainability.

Japan made a commitment to provide 200 billion yen (Bt62 billion) worth of assistance to Mekong countries, according to an official at Japan’s Foreign Ministry. Details and plans for such assistance were discussed by Japanese leaders with the leaders of individual Mekong countries, he said.

The largest chunk of the assistance this year and in the near future will go to Myanmar, which is now seeking assistance from foreign countries as it undergoes political and economic reforms. 

Abe pledged fresh aid in the form of 63 billion yen in loans to Myanmar yesterday. Big projects on the list are infrastructure-development projects in the Thilawa Special Economic Zone (phase I); the Yangon-Mandalay railway-improvement project; and the improvement, management and maintenance of Mandalay International Airport.

Japan will also help enhance capacity building in Myanmar to strengthen its ability to chair Asean next year, the Japanese official said.

Japan is playing a role in the peace process between the government in Nay Pyi Taw and armed ethnic groups, he said.

In June 2012, Japan appointed Yohei Sasakawa, the chairman of the Nippon Foundation, as the ambassador for the welfare of ethnic minorities in Myanmar to coordinate its assistance for the peace process.

“His role is not to be involved directly in the peace negotiations, but to help on the development side,” the official said. 

After his bilateral meeting with Laotian Premier Thongsing, Abe announced yesterday that Japan will provide Laos with an aid package worth 10.46 billion yen in loan agreements to help the country build infrastructure.

Abe was quoted as saying to leaders of Mekong countries that the aid would contribute to the growth of their economies, and that he was satisfied with the progress of projects under bilateral cooperation when he visited the countries earlier.

A number of development projects on which Japan is offering assistance have been added to the agenda being implemented with the cooperation of Mekong Japan.

The region-wide projects added this year include enhancing of connectivity in waterway transport and logistics in the Mekong sub-region, and a study on the creation of new economic corridors, also known as the land-bridge project.

Leaders from the Mekong told Abe they were grateful for Japanese assistance to the sub-region and expected to see continuity of the assistance as well as direct foreign investment from Japanese companies in the Mekong basin, according to an official at the Japanese Foreign Ministry.