Signed by ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Taro Kono, the pact sets out a legal framework for the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to offer direct assistance to ASEAN as an international organisation.
Accordingly, JICA will provide ASEAN with technical training, equipment and machines, while sending experts to ASEAN facilities, including the secretariat and a number of educational establishments and research institutes.
Under the agreement, which is valid for five years, cooperation programmes will be carried out across ASEAN member states in contribution to overall socio-economic development of the bloc.
Vietnam is the current coordinator of ASEAN-Japan relations, with its tenure lasting from August 2018 to August 2021.
