A. Rubio
In the commemoration of the 55th anniversary of the creation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Indonesian Ambassador to Madrid, Muhammad Najib, confirmed that the first ever EU-ASEAN summit with the participation of all the heads of state and government of both blocs will be held in Brussels. The scheduled date, still to be confirmed, is 14 December.
Previous meetings between the 27-nation EU and the 10-nation ASEAN have only been attended by the leaders holding the temporary presidencies of the two blocs. Experts therefore attach great importance to this initiative, which follows the path taken by the United States during Barack Obama’s mandate, of establishing solid relations with a region rich in natural resources and through which, moreover, one of the world’s main trade routes runs.
This first “comprehensive” summit is a sign that the two blocs are seeking closer ties, especially in the face of ongoing concerns about security threats posed by China and Russia, according to EU officials.
The event held yesterday at the Indonesian Embassy, which assumed weeks ago the coordination of the ASEAN countries with diplomatic representation in Spain, was attended by the ambassadors of Thailand, Vietnam, China, South Korea, India, as well as the Chargés d’Affaires of the Philippines and Malaysia, representatives of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the OECD.
After raising the ASEAN flag, the ambassador stressed in a brief speech that the organisation guarantees the stability of Southeast Asia, to which it has brought political, economic and socio-cultural security based on an “open, inclusive and rules-based” system for all its members.
The ASEAN bloc, with a population of 650 million people, is already “the fifth largest economy in the world and by 2030 it will be the fourth largest“, said Muhammad Najib, who welcomed the fact that “Europe and Asia are getting closer and closer”.
