(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-01-16 22:59

Tokyo -- Japan agreed Wednesday to allocate fund to aid infrastructure and help poor areas in Mekong nations after the foreign ministers of Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos held talks with their Japanese counterpart in Tokyo.

During the first Japan-Mekong foreign ministerial meeting, Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura and his counterparts from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam agreed to allocate US$20 million from the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund for improving infrastructure, building schools and hospitals, and poverty reduction in the area, Japan's foreign ministry said.

The six ministers also agreed to spend another US$20 million from the fund on the construction projects of the East- West Economic Corridor that links Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, and the Second East-West Economic Corridor that connects Bangkok and Cambodia.

During the talks, Komura also called on Myanmar to cooperate with the United Nations and to hold dialogues to realize national reconciliation.

In an effort to boost exchanges between Japan and the five nations in political, economic and cultural areas, the ministers designated the year 2009 as "Mekong-Japan Exchange Year". Japan said it will invite more than 10,000 youths from the Mekong region over the next five years.

The foreign ministers also discussed the prevention of infectious diseases, ways to tackle global warming, and other regional and international issues.