Japan and the United States agreed Tuesday to increase cooperation on a joint project in Cambodia to prevent the spread of infectious diseases such as AIDS and tuberculosis. During the 10th plenary meeting of the Japan-U.S. Common Agenda, held in Tokyo, the two countries focused on six areas to enhance cooperation, Deputy Foreign Minister Yoshiji Nogami told a news conference. The areas include global ocean observation, infectious disease prevention in Cambodia, counternarcotics projects in South Asia and population and health projects in Bangladesh, Nogami said, adding that a specific agenda to advance the projects will be discussed later. U.S. Undersecretary of State Frank Loy, who represented the U.S. delegation, stressed the importance of combating infectious diseases, especially in developing countries. "We feel it is not only a humanitarian issue of huge proportion but also an issue that affects the development and security agenda (of developing countries)," Loy said. "HIV, AIDS can be so brutal that it can undo decades of development in poor countries." The Common Agenda, which was launched in 1993 after a top-level meeting between U.S. President Bill Clinton and then Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, covers a wide range of issues from fighting infectious diseases to global climate change research.
