Ninth Asia-Europe Summit kicks off
Heads of states, diplomats, business people and media are gathering in Laos’ capital Vientiane on November 5 to 6 at the 9th Asia-Europe Summit (ASEM) to discuss political and economic topics of importance for the two regions.
In total, the event will greet nine heads of state and 22 prime ministers along with deputy ministers and the presidents of the European Commission, the European Council and the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
One of the first measures after the summit started on November 5 was to extend the number of member nations to include Norway, Switzerland and Bangladesh, bringing total membership to 51.
The economic and financial meltdown affecting several ASEM members is on the agenda, and other issues being discussed include food and energy security, sustainable development, climate change and natural disaster response. One outcome expected is a joint commitment on free trade. Other topics on the summit’s agenda are discussions on global security concerns, terrorism and piracy.
Asian politicians are expected to press Europe to take quick action to calm the crisis that has been affecting the world economy and establish efforts to reduce global poverty.
ASEM was established in 1996 with the aim of improving ties between the advanced economies of Europe and the fast-growing economies of Asia. The summit is held every two years and gives an opportunity to improve trade links between the two regions which together account for about half of the global GDP.
ASEM now has 51 partners: 40 countries and 2 international organisations. The partners are Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UK, Vietnam, the European Commission and the ASEAN Secretariat.
Heads of states, diplomats, business people and media are gathering in Laos' capital Vientiane on November 5 to 6 at the 9th Asia-Europe Summit (ASEM) to discuss political and economic topics of importance for the two regions. In total, the event will greet nine heads of state and 22 prime ministers along with deputy ministers and the presidents of the European Commission, the European Council and the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. One of the first measures after the summit started on November 5 was to extend the number of member nations to include Norway, Switzerland and...
Heads of states, diplomats, business people and media are gathering in Laos’ capital Vientiane on November 5 to 6 at the 9th Asia-Europe Summit (ASEM) to discuss political and economic topics of importance for the two regions.
In total, the event will greet nine heads of state and 22 prime ministers along with deputy ministers and the presidents of the European Commission, the European Council and the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
One of the first measures after the summit started on November 5 was to extend the number of member nations to include Norway, Switzerland and Bangladesh, bringing total membership to 51.
The economic and financial meltdown affecting several ASEM members is on the agenda, and other issues being discussed include food and energy security, sustainable development, climate change and natural disaster response. One outcome expected is a joint commitment on free trade. Other topics on the summit’s agenda are discussions on global security concerns, terrorism and piracy.
Asian politicians are expected to press Europe to take quick action to calm the crisis that has been affecting the world economy and establish efforts to reduce global poverty.
ASEM was established in 1996 with the aim of improving ties between the advanced economies of Europe and the fast-growing economies of Asia. The summit is held every two years and gives an opportunity to improve trade links between the two regions which together account for about half of the global GDP.
ASEM now has 51 partners: 40 countries and 2 international organisations. The partners are Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UK, Vietnam, the European Commission and the ASEAN Secretariat.
