Anwar proposes four cooperation areas to empower Asean

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has proposed four areas of cooperation to expand and deepen collaboration within Asean, empowering its people to be more resilient and better able to address future challenges.

At the Asean-Japan Commemorative Summit in Tokyo, Japan, Anwar pointed out that the four areas are public health, climate action, disaster management and people-to-people exchanges.

Anwar said that drawing from the lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic, Asean and Japan must remain vigilant against future health crises.

He said that in this respect, as the region moves towards operationalising the Asean Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases, Malaysia proposed that the Asean member states and Japan place researchers at the centre.

“We should bring together researchers from diverse backgrounds, experience and know-how to form a team that could help better address future health challenges,” he said in his remarks during the summit’s third agenda themed 'Heart to Heart Partners Across Generations’.

Weather worries

On climate action, he said Asean and Japan should continue to work closely to advance regional and national mitigation and adaptation strategies.

“Delaying these risks will worsen the irreversible impact of climate change, a reality already experienced by some (countries),” he said.

Anwar added that Asean and Japan should seize on the momentous outcome of COP28, especially on the Global Stocktake, Global Goal on Adaptation and the loss and damage fund.

“I welcome (Japan) Prime Minister (Fumio) Kishida’s early commitment of US$10 million (US$1 = RM4.67) for the latter and I encourage Japan to do more in assisting developing countries with energy transition in a just, orderly and equitable manner,” he said.

Anwar said the region has seen a surge in extreme weather events, from droughts to floods and landslides, which called for his third point - disaster management.

He said this is why Malaysia values Japan's contribution to operationalising the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre).

Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida

At the same time, Anwar called for deeper collaboration with Japan in ongoing efforts to establish Permanent Disaster Relief Centres, capitalising on Japan’s extensive experience and expertise in Disaster Risk Reduction.

Jenesys programme

In bringing the people of the region together, Malaysia appreciated Japan's initiatives such as the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (Jenesys), which aims to help bridge cultural divides and foster a sense of shared identity.

According to Anwar, it is important that the Jenesys programme return to its face-to-face format for meaningful interactions among the youths.

On Malaysia’s part, he said the country will encourage students from all Asean member states to choose Japan’s University of Tsukuba’s branch campus in Malaysia to pursue their tertiary education.

Anwar said Malaysia welcomed Japan’s new initiative of ‘Partnership to Co-create a Future with the Next Generation’.

Following these proposals, the leaders adopted a vision statement and an implementation plan that focused on future cooperation under the theme of co-creation, concluding the summit.

The commemorative summit was co-chaired by Kishida as the host, along with Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

- Bernama