Japanese Ambassador To Asean Presents Credentials

By Ahmad Fuad Yahya JAKARTA, March 13 (Bernama) -- Japanese Ambassador to Asean, Kimihiro Ishikane, on Tuesday presented his credentials to Asean Secretary-General Dr Surin Pitsuwan. Speaking at the ceremony held at the Asean Secretariat here, he said Asean's strong and vibrant population which stood at 600 million, its three-fold GDP increase in the past decade, and its geographical location were vital to Japan's interests. He said Asean's peace and prosperity were directly linked to the peace and prosperity of the entire East Asian region, including Japan. "Specifically, in order to support the Asean Community Building by 2015, Japan will continue to support Asean's efforts at enhancing Asean Connectivity, through, inter alia, infrastructure maintenance and system standardisation that will strengthen Asean's economic integration," Ishikane was qouted in a press release by the Asean Secretariat here Tuesday. Dr Surin meanwhile, said the Asean-Japan cooperative relations had been most productive through the years with recognised mutual interests and shared goals. Ishikane is the second Japanese ambassador to Asean. He succeeded previous ambassador Takio Yamada. -- BERNAMA