Friday, September 22, 2006

A decision on the enlargement of ASEM at the Helsinki Summit


The leaders of 38 Asian and European countries and the President of the European Commission concluded their two-day ASEM 6 Summit in Helsinki on 11 September 2006.

In its closing stages, the summit approved guidelines for the future of the cooperation process between the two continents and adopted a decision on the admission of six new partners. Bulgaria and Romania from Europe and India, Mongolia, Pakistan and the ASEAN Secretariat on the Asian side will join the ASEM process. The Heads of State or Government also adopted two declarations.

The aim of the Declaration on Climate Change is to add momentum to efforts to reach agreement in international climate negotiations. “This sends a strong signal to the world that ASEM intends to tackle the threat that climate change poses to sustainable development”, said Prime Minister Vanhanen.

See full Press Release.