Asia–Europe Meeting

The Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM) is an Asian–European political dialogue forum to enhance relations and various forms of cooperation between its partners. It was officially established on 1 March 1996 at the 1st ASEM Summit (ASEM1) in Bangkok, Thailand, by the then 15 Member States of the European Union (EU) and the European Commission, the then 7 Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the individual countries of China, Japan, and South Korea.[2] A series of enlargements saw additional EU Member States join as well as India, Mongolia, Pakistan and the ASEAN Secretariat in 2008, Australia, New Zealand and Russia in 2010[3], Bangladesh, Norway, and Switzerland in 2012[4], as well as Croatia and Kazakhstan in 2014.[5]

ASEM Map in blue & red

Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM)

TypePolitical Dialogue Forum
Partnership53 ASEM Partners[1]
Establishment1996
ASEM Logo

The main components of the ASEM Process rest on the following 3 pillars:

  • Political Pillar
  • Economic & Financial Pillar
  • Social, Cultural & Educational Pillar

In general, the ASEM Process is considered by the Partners involved to be a way of deepening the relations between Asia and Europe at all levels, which is deemed necessary to achieve a more balanced political and economic world order. The process is enhanced by the biennial meetings of Heads of State and Government, alternately in Asia and Europe, and biennial meetings of Foreign Ministers as well as other Ministerial Meetings, and other political, economic, and socio-cultural events at various levels.

Partners

The ASEM Partnership currently has 53 Partners: 51 countries and 2 regional organisations. The countries are Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, South 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, United Kingdom and Vietnam, while the European Union and the ASEAN Secretariat are the regional organisations involved.

Meetings

ASEM Summits

Biennial Summits are held alternating between Asia and Europe, attended by the Heads of State and Government of the respective partner countries and organisations:

ASEM Ministerial Meetings

Aside from Summits, regular Ministerial Meetings are held on foreign affairs, financial, cultural, economic, educational, labor and employment, transport, or environmental issues, attended by the relevant ministers:

ASEM Foreign Ministers' Meetings (ASEMFMM)

ASEM Finance Ministers’ Meetings (ASEMFinMM)

ASEM Culture Ministers' Meetings (ASEMCMM)

ASEM Economic Ministers' Meetings (ASEMEMM)

ASEM Education Ministers' Meetings (ASEMME)

ASEM Labour & Employment Ministers’ Conferences (ASEMLEMC)

ASEM Transport Ministers' Meetings (ASEMTMM)

ASEM Environment Ministers' Meetings (ASEMEnvMM)

ASEM Ministerial Conference on Energy Security (ASEMESMC)

See also
  • Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), the only permanently established institution under the ASEM framework

References
  1. http://www.aseminfoboard.org/about/partners
  2. Lay Hwee Yeo (2003). Asia and Europe: the development and different dimensions of ASEM. Routledge (UK). ISBN 0-415-30697-3.
  3. ASEM ministers wrap up ‘productive’ session
  4. ASEF's Expansion
  5. "The History". Asia-Europe Foundation. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
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