On 10 and 11 September leaders from 10 ASEAN countries, China, Japan, Korea, 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 ten years have passed since the inaugural Summit in Bangkok took place. The Meeting's tenth anniversary provides an excellent occasion to see how far 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 ten 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% of total world trade in goods, and ASEM partners together account for about 52% of the world’s GDP. The scope of political dialogue has been widened and now covers 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 cooperation has significantly improved mutual awareness and understanding between Asia and Europe.
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