JAKARTA, 6 November 2023 – In celebrating the 50th Year of ASEAN–Japan Friendship and Cooperation, the Mission of Japan to ASEAN and the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) Management Team (JMT) kicked off the onsite and virtual Golden Friendship Walk and Run 2023 on 5 November.
The Golden Friendship Walk and Run 2023 commenced with opening remarks by Ambassador KIYA Masahiko of the Japan Mission to ASEAN, who stated, “We are gathered here today to walk and run together. The Golden Friendship Walk and Run is one of the events where participants throughout ASEAN and beyond including Japan can join virtually to celebrate the 50th year of ASEAN-Japan cooperation.”
During the opening ceremony, Minister Councellor Piyapong Nuntana of the Thai Mission to ASEAN, also delivered his remarks, “Walking and running are good for our health and for the environment as a study shows that walking reduces your carbon footprint by 75%, I therefore encourage you to walk or run instead of driving whenever possible. Your participation today will also help raise awareness on reducing carbon emission, which is a goal in ASEAN-Japan cooperation.”
Deputy-Secretary General of ASEAN for Political-Security Community Michael Tene and JABOT – an ASEAN-Japan mascot – flagged off the walk and run event with a six-kilometre track along the main boulevard of Sudirman and the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.
Over a hundred people participated at the event including Permanent Representatives of the ASEAN Member States, Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN, the ASEAN Secretariat staff, and representatives of Dialogue Partners. In addition, several private Japanese companies and the general public also took part.
To date, over 4,000 participants from ASEAN region, Timor Leste, and Japan has participated in the event. This number is expected to increase as registration through the official event page remainsopen until 15 November 2023.
The series of events to commemorate the 50th anniversary will continue. Another Golden Mission event will be conducted online on 18 November – 2 December and onsite on 18-19 November 2023 as part of the Jakarta Japan Matsuri 2023 at Gambir Expo – Arena PRJ Kemayoran.
More information on the 50th Anniversary of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation is available at https://aseanjapan50.org/
or contact:
JAIF Management Team (JMT), ASEAN Secretariat
Tel: +62-21-726-2991 (Ext. 859)
Fax: +62-21-739-9234
Email: jmt@asean.org
