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Jointly facing global challenges

(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-09-09 08:57

On September 10 and 11, leaders from 10 ASEAN countries, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the 25 EU member States, and the president of the European Commission will meet at the sixth Summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Helsinki.

The gathering will be a cause for celebration and reflection, as 10 years have passed since the inaugural summit in Bangkok took place. This tenth anniversary provides an excellent occasion to see how ASEM has lived up to the expectations of its partners and look to the future to consider where the Asia-Europe partnership should be heading after its first 10 years.

Asia-Europe relations have achieved significant progress during the past decade. Economic relations have strengthened. Trade between the two regions now accounts for more than 43 per cent of total world trade in goods, and ASEM partners together account for about 52 per cent of the world's GDP.

The scope of political dialogue has been widened, now covering human rights and the rule of law as well as global threats and broad security issues such as factors conducive to the spread of terrorism and conflict prevention. Moreover, enhanced interaction in the field of cultural dialogue and co-operation has significantly improved mutual awareness and understanding between Asia and Europe.

ASEM has served to build consensus among its membership, thereby facilitating progress in other multilateral fora. ASEM has also been instrumental in developing shared values and interests between the two regions. This, in turn, has helped promote regional co-operation and thus provide momentum for the move towards future community-building in East Asia. By acting together, ASEM partners have the critical mass to help bring about global change.

At the trans-regional level, ASEM interlinks Europe's and Asia's business communities, parliaments, NGOs and other representatives of civil society. The Asia-Europe Foundation, ASEM's only institution, has played a significant role in interpersonal contacts. The Foundation has successfully developed networking as well as cultural and educational exchanges, and has provided an interface between ASEM governments and civil society in the two regions.

Tangible results include numerous collaborative projects, programmes, seminars and initiatives sponsored by groups of partner countries from the two regions. Co-operation has expanded beyond the initial emphasis on the economy to include new fields such as health, the environment and energy, employment and labour, and science and technology including Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

To continue to exploit its full potential, ASEM must carry on providing added value. It has three tools with which to achieve this:

First, ASEM should pay particular attention to certain priority areas, to be followed up through joint initiatives and programmes. These areas include strengthening multilateralism to address security threats; promoting human-centred and sustainable development including co-operation on the environment and energy security; managing globalisation; and enhancing dialogue among cultures and civilisations.

Second, ASEM should continue to complement ongoing work in other fora in line with the international agenda. For example, ASEM's contribution to the fight against international terrorism should tie in with ongoing counter-terrorism efforts in the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the UN framework. ASEM's "Dialogue among Cultures and Civilisations" programme (which includes Interfaith Dialogue) is consistent with activities conducted in other international co-operation structures.

Third, ASEM should continue to strive for greater transparency and a broader sense of ownership. Interpersonal contacts as well as educational and intellectual exchanges are of paramount importance, and also increase ASEM's visibility. Further efforts are needed to raise the awareness of the general public and attract media attention.

The article is written by the leaders of the four ASEM coordinators: the country holding the rotating EU Presidency, currently Finland; the European Commission; Indonesia, representing ASEAN countries; and the Republic of Korea, representing the Northeast Asian countries.