ASEAN-JAPAN
Japan continues to be a major investor and
trading partner of ASEAN. On investments,
ASEAN's share of Japanese global foreign
direct investment (FDI) has increased by 2.4%,
from 8.9% in 1991 to 11.3% in 1992. ASEAN-
Japan trade in absolute terms has been growing
steadily since 1986, from US$ 28.6 billion in
1986 to US$ 72.3 billion in 1992. Between 1990
and 1992, ASEAN accounted for about 12.2% of
total Japanese global trade. During the same period,
more than 20% of total ASEAN trade went
to Japan. While this asserts that ASEAN is an
important trading partner of Japan, ASEAN
believes that its trade deficit problem with Japan
could be narrowed through the importation of
more ASEAN industrial and manufacturing
products and improves market access for ASEAN
products to Japan.
In 1993, ASEAN-Japan cooperation deepened
in the areas of economic, investment and industrial
development. Since the Second Meeting
between the ASEAN Economic Ministers and the
Japanese Minister of International Trade and
Industry, in Singapore in September 1993, the
development of small and medium industries,
standards and quality control cooperation, intellectual
property cooperation, and industrial technology
research cooperation were the main thrusts
of ASEAN-Japan cooperation. The four specific
cooperation programmes, however, are being
implemented on a bilateral basis.
On development cooperation, Japan has allocated
US$ 306,960 for projects that would be
implemented under the Japan-ASEAN Cooperation
Promotion Programme (JACPP) and another
US$ 584,571 for the Japan-ASEAN Exchange
Programme (JAEP). In the first quarter of 1994,
Japan through its agency, the Japan Foundation,
further released another US$ 2 million to the
ASEAN Secretariat for the ASEAN-Japan Youth
Scholarship Fund. This marks the fourth annual
contribution of US$ 2 million for the phase 11 of
the ASEAN-Japan Youth Scholarship Fund, where
Japan agreed to provide US$ 10 million between
1991-1995.
Specifically, under the JAEP scheme eight
projects are being implemented which to-date cost
about US$ 2,261,420 and six projects costing US
$ 422,814 have been completed. The six JAEP
completed projects were associated with cooperation
in social development, in particular to implement
training seminars and workshops on ASEAN
youth development.
Apart from the usual Japan development assistance
schemes extended to ASEAN, such as the
JACPP, JAEP, Inter-ASEAN Technical Exchange
Programme (IATEP), and Japan-ASEAN Youth
Scholarship Fund, ASEAN has also benefitted
from the utilisation of ASEAN-Japan Development
Fund (AJDF) which expired in July 1993.
In recognizing the usefulness of the scheme,
ASEAN is requesting Japan to extend the AJDF
for another three years.