After the UN General Assembly, it is the largest meeting of state leaders. The fight against the pandemic, climate protection and the need for free trade bring Europe and Asia closer together.
The Asia-Europe Summit (Asem) came to an end with appeals for greater cooperation.
Openness, multilateralism and a rule-based order are crucial for the economic recovery in the Corona crisis, said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday at the end of the virtual meeting of heads of state and government.
“We can achieve so much when we work together.” The pandemic has shown how important it is to have functioning supply chains and an open and stable trading environment.
The Asem partners include 51 countries as well as the heads of the European Union and the Southeast Asian Association Asean. After the UN General Assembly, it is the largest meeting of state leaders. The informal group represents 55 percent of world trade, 60 percent of the world’s population and 65 percent of global economic output.
Europe and Asia should cooperate in the fight against the virus and in climate protection, said von der Leyen. “We have to tackle these problems together.” The European Union has already exported 550 million vaccine doses to the Asia-Pacific region and will continue these exports. “We have to vaccinate and we have to sequence the virus,” said the Commission President, referring to the coronavirus variant (B.1.1.529) newly discovered in South Africa.
When expanding the infrastructure and the desired connectivity, the focus must be on the green transformation. “We have to convert ambition in climate protection into action,” said von der Leyen. “We have to do more and we have to do it together.” Under the rotating presidency of Cambodia, the Asem countries celebrated their 25th anniversary at the two-day summit. The motto was “Strengthening multilateralism for common growth”.
The Indo-Pacific region is becoming increasingly important for the European Union, which is already one of the leading investors and one of Asia’s major cooperation and trading partners, said EU Council President Charles Michel. “We are strongly connected with one another, have many common interests and solid relationships.” Together with its partners in Asia, the EU endeavors to promote an open and fair environment for trade and investment. “The rules-based international order remains a strategic priority.”
In addition to the 27 EU members, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey and Great Britain are also represented in the Asem Group. Russia and India, the Asian economic giants China, Japan and South Korea as well as Australia and New Zealand also take part. Many Asem partners such as hosts Cambodia or China are not democratic and often hear human rights criticism from Europe.
Against the background of the different systems, China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang emphasized in his speech on Friday that the right of all countries to choose their own development path must be respected. All countries should also be treated equally – regardless of size, strength or wealth.
Source From: Stern
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
