13th ASEM Summit

In News

• Recently, the 13th ASEM Summit was hosted virtually by Cambodia, the ASEM Chair.

13th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM13)

• This year marks ASEM’s 25th anniversary of the ASEM process which was established in the year 1996..
• The overall theme of ASEM-13 was “Strengthening Multilateralism for Shared Growth”.
• The sessions discussed the following topics:
  • COVID-19, health and socio-economic recovery
  • multilateralism and the rules-based international order (including trade)
  • climate change
  • connectivity
  • women, peace and security
  • regional issues
  • inclusive and sustainable growth and development

India’s Statement

• Reforms in International Organizations: 
  • India emphasized the need for reforms in the UN Security Council and other key international organizations to make them capable enough to deal with the contemporary challenges.
  • India underlined that reformed multilateralism is a key driving principle that India has pursued for a purposeful reform of existing global institutional structures.
  • Stressing the need to mitigate the causes of persistent insecurity at a global level, India highlighted the need for reforms in the international structure responsible for maintaining global peace and security.
• Need for Peace:
  • Without peace, development suffers and the lack of development and stifled economic progress create fertile ground for violence and instability. 
  • Therefore, efforts towards promoting economic activity and enhancing the livelihood security are required.
• Re-imagine International Cooperation:
  • It is the lack of a coordinated global response that has exposed the vulnerabilities and weaknesses of the multilateral system as it stands today.
  • Thus, India underlined the need for global solidarity and strengthened cooperative multilateralism. 
  • India highlighted four important areas for international economic cooperation namely, 
    • resilient and reliable supply chains, 
    • health security, 
    • digital for development and 
    • green and sustainable recovery.

Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM)

• Origin: 
  • ASEM was conceived by Singapore and France in 1994. 
  • The first Summit was held in Bangkok in March 1996. 
• About:
  • ASEM is an intergovernmental process to foster dialogue and cooperation between Asia and Europe.
  • ASEM addresses political, economic, financial, social, cultural, and educational issues of common interest in a spirit of mutual respect and equal partnership. 
• Objective:
  • To connect Asia and Europe and help raise awareness between the two regions, 
  • To coordinate multilateral policies where possible, generate initiatives, 
  • To open up opportunities for trade and investment and 
  • To promote the development of civil society networks. 
• Members:
  • The initial ASEM Partnership in 1996 consisted of 15 EU Member States, 7 ASEAN Member States, China, Japan, Korea and the European Commission. 
  • Today, ASEM comprises 53 Partners: 
    • 21 Asian countries;
    • the ASEAN Secretariat; 
    • the European Union and its 27 member states; and
    • Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
• Summit:
  • The ASEM Summit is a biennial meeting between the Heads of State and Government, the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, and the Secretary-General of ASEAN.

Significance 

• The Summit reinforced the Asia-Europe partnership to ensure that multilateralism can bring about global growth that is not only “sustainable” but can also be “shared”.
• Its thematic concept focused on the interaction of 4 main ideas: Multilateralism, Growth, Sustainable Development and Prosperity.
• The efforts are being taken to promote ASEM as one of the cornerstones of global governance. 
• Highlighted Importance of ASEM:
  • ASEM links Asia and Europe by facilitating discussion on political, economic and cultural relations.
  • Through its informal process based on equal partnership and enhancing mutual understanding, ASEM facilitates and stimulates progress.

Way Ahead

• The prosperity of both continents (Asia & Europe) is the ultimate objective of the ASEM Process.
• Multilateral cooperation, and a strong Europe-Asia relationship in particular, is crucial for global recovery.

Source: PIB