ASEAN, EU bolster multifaceted cooperation

The 22nd Meeting of the ASEAN-EU Joint Cooperation Committee was held in Jakarta, Indonesia on February 5 during which the two blocs underlined their partnership’s special nature, future agenda, and impressive recent progress.
The 22nd Meeting of the ASEAN-EU Joint Cooperation Committee was held inJakarta, Indonesia on February 5 during which the two blocs underlinedtheir partnership’s special nature, future agenda, and impressive recentprogress.

The event was co-chaired by Ambassador and PermanentRepresentative of Vietnam to ASEAN Vu Dang Dung, who is also the CountryCoordinator for the ASEAN-EU Dialogue Relations, Ranieri Sabatucci,Head of the Southeast Asia Division of the European External ActionService, and Jean-Claude Boidin, Head of Unit of the European CommissionDirectorate General for Development Cooperation.

It was attendedby members of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN,officials from the ASEAN Secretariat and the EU, as well asrepresentatives from EU member states.

ASEAN and the EU exchangedviews on development in their respective regions. The latter welcomedthe progress achieved in ASEAN integration and community-building andreaffirmed its support to the centrality of ASEAN in the evolvingregional architecture.

The two sides underlined the value ofregular consultations between the ASEAN Economic Ministers and the EUTrade Commissioner to strengthen trade and investments ties.

ASEANand the EU agreed on the Terms of Reference of the Programme SteeringCommittees, which will oversee the implementation and overall directionof ASEAN-EU Cooperation Programmes.

They agreed to enhancenon-traditional security cooperation and organise the 2nd High-LevelDialogue on Maritime Security Cooperation in Malaysia during the firsthalf of 2015, with a special focus on exchanging lessons on buildingeffective regional cooperation and capability.

The blocsdiscussed the 2014-2020 programming cycle of financial support forASEAN. ASEAN welcomed the EU's decision to substantially increase itsresources allotted for cooperation with ASEAN from 70 million EUR (about80 million USD) to 170 million EUR (194.6 million USD) through 2020.Future cooperation will focus on sustainable and inclusive economicintegration and trade; climate change and environment and disastermanagement; and a comprehensive dialogue mechanism.

ASEAN alsowelcomed the EU's continued commitment to assist in narrowing theintra-ASEAN development gap, particularly the significant increase ofits bilateral cooperation with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam from607 million EUR (694 million USD) between 2007 and 2013 to 1.7 billionEUR (1.95 billion USD) between 2014 and 2020.

The EU raised theprospect of closer cooperation within the United Nations on thepost-2015 development agenda and the establishment of SustainableDevelopment Goals in addressing global poverty and sustainabledevelopment as well as climate change.

The two sides discussedthe decision of the 20th ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting on developing aroadmap for upgrading their coordination to a strategic partnership andagreed to negotiate further at the ASEAN-EU Senior Officials’ Meeting inBrussels, Belgium later this year.-VNA

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