Asian and European [ASEM] leaders to meet in Brussels

LONDON, June 10 (APP)-As many as 48 Heads of State and Government from 46 Asian and European countries, and the European Commission and the ASEAN Secretariat will meet in Brussels on October 4 and 5 this year for Summit discussions on key global challenges and ways of strengthening political, economic and cultural ties between the two continents.The 8th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit offers a unique and important opportunity for deepening relations between Europe and an increasingly self-confident, dynamic, “rising” Asia .

This Summit will, in fact, be the largest ever such gathering in Brussels , which is home both to the European Union and NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, organisers said Thursday.

When they last met at Summit level in Beijing in 2008, ASEM’s 45 Asian and European leaders then had the first major discussion on how to contain the global financial crisis just as its effects were beginning.

That Beijing ASEM Summit was a key preparation for the subsequent G20 Summits which have emerged as a new global economic governance fora. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso’s message in Beijing : “we either swim together or sink together” was echoed by both Asian and European leaders who committed themselves to joint efforts to spur their domestic and global economies.

This year’s ASEM summit will also inevitably focus on the continuing fall-out of the economic and financial crisis, especially on existing global governance structures, ways to encourage more Asia-Europe cooperation on energy, environmental protection, food security and social development ­ so-called “sustainable development” issues ­ improving relations between the peoples of Europe and Asia, and common challenges, including counter-terrorism, fighting piracy at sea and organized crime.

In addition, in a sign of changing times and regional re-jigging, Russia , Australia and New Zealand will become official members of ASEM and their leaders will be in Brussels.

Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is a forum for dialogue between Europe and Asia . Since its establishment in 1996 ASEM has been the main multilateral channel for communication between Asia and Europe , strengthening interaction and mutual understanding.

The current ASEM partners are: Austria, Belgium, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, The Netherlands, The Philippines, United Kingdom, Vietnam, the ASEAN Secretariat and the European Commission.