(VOVworld) – Five southeast Asian countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion have asked Japan for further high-quality development aid.

Senior officials from Japan and five southeast Asian countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion (photo:kyodo)

The proposal was made at Sunday’s meeting in the Japanese city of Hamamatsu between senior officials from Japan and Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. The meeting was aimed at crafting a new strategy on Japan-Mekong cooperation that leaders from all sides are expected to adopt during a summit slated for July 4 in Tokyo. Minoru Kiuchi, Japan’s state minister for foreign affairs said that he hoped Japan-Mekong and Japan-ASEAN relations would develop beyond government-to-government level to a more multifaceted one, through the greater involvement of regional organizations.