As part of their effort to challenge the "predatory" economic development model of China, the US and Japan today agreed on a slew of commercial infrastructure projects in countries of the Indo-Pacific region.
The projects are for enhancing government support for LNG-related infrastructure development and fiber-optic submarine cable system project.
In a joint statement at the conclusion of the second public-private sector roundtable discussion on US-Japan cooperation on third country infrastructure, the two countries confirmed a list of ongoing cooperative activities in the Indo-Pacific and other nations that will promote quality infrastructure and best value solutions.
Prominent among them are LNG to power project in Bangladesh, Jawa LNG-fired IPP project in Indonesia, and gas-fired IPP project in Sharjah.
During the roundtable, a wide range of US and Japanese government agencies and numerous companies identified avenues to expand cooperation to assist Indo-Pacific and other nations in securing quality infrastructure and best value solutions that meet their sustainable social and economic goals, a media release said.
More than 150 government officials and private sector representatives attended the roundtable and they identified specific activities in the areas of commercial cooperation, joint financing and risk mitigation, policy advocacy, and capacity building.
The participants welcomed concrete progress from US-Japan cooperation, including a photovoltaic (solar power) project in Jordan, the first co-financing project from the MOU between Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI).