News

On 4-5 October Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius and his delegation are taking part in the 8th Asia-Europe Summit of Heads of State and Government (ASEM) in Brussels. The major topics of this global summit address the global crisis, means to fight it and the outcomes thereof, global economy management, sustainable development, climate change, combating maritime piracy, and terrorism.

 Before the ASEM session, the forum participants, heads of state and government, were met by King Albert II of Belgium, Prime Minister of Belgium Yves Leterme, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy, and President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso.

 “ASEM plays an important role in strengthening mutual security. This forum provides an unquestionable benefit in opportunities to discuss the uniqueness of the European and Asian understanding, and thus learn from each other. It is also of utmost importance in searching for ways to overcome the global crisis and discussing the ways that every continent and its leaders could contribute to the more efficient management of crisis and its after-effects”, said Prime Minister Kubilius before the summit.

 The European Commission is seeking to raise the ASEM dialogue to a higher level, moving from a dialogue to a partnership. It plans to allocate 1 billion Euros to the ASEM activities by 2014, and an additional 1 billion Euros to the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) annually. It has been proposed to hold the ASEF board meeting in Vilnius next year, with a view to ensuring that Lithuania continues to take a leading position in the Asia-Europe cooperation matters, following the successful first meeting of the ASEM transport ministers in Vilnius last year.

 The Asia-Europe Meeting is part of the dialogue between the European Union and the Asian countries initiated in 1996, which seeks to strengthen the inter-regional relations and enhance mutual understanding. The ASEM process, analogical to the Barcelona Process (which develops the EU-Mediterranean relations) is an informal open forum, which contributes to the work on the bilateral level of multi-lateral forums like the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation, and since this meeting in Brussels, also like the summits of heads of state and government.