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Tokyo, March 25 (DPA) Japan and Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) agreed Tuesday to strengthen cooperation, especially in regional integration. Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda promised visiting Asean Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan that Japan would continue to assist the 10-member group to eradicate economic gaps especially among the Mekong nations, Kyodo News Agency quoted Japanese Foreign Ministry officials.

Surin said the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the current global financial turmoil “give us enough reason to think more seriously about community building, building our own shock absorbance to protect ourselves.”

The Asean nations need to work together so that they can maintain a “vibrant and prosperous community,” Surin said.

Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
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