The Diplomat
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, participated yesterday in the first ever Summit between the leaders of the Member States of the EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), held in Brussels under the co-presidency of the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of ASEAN in 2022 and Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen.
During his speech at the Summit, which commemorated the forty-fifth anniversary of relations between the European Union and ASEAN, Sánchez defended the joint work between the two regions to advance in the response to challenges such as climate change or energy and food instability.
On climate change, President Sanchez warned that without international collaboration, the transition to net zero global emissions could be delayed by decades. Likewise, although he described the results of COP 27 as insufficient, he did highlight the creation, within the framework of this conference, of the fund for loss and damage, which he defined as “the opening of a new chapter in international solidarity”.
With regard to energy and food instability, Pedro Sánchez warned of the need to face this challenge jointly between both regions through short- and medium-term measures, especially after the negative effects of both the pandemic and the Russian aggression against Ukraine on the world production, distribution and consumption system. He also called for improvements in food self-sufficiency at the global level and to ensure the proper functioning of global supply chains.
During the EU-ASEAN Summit, a Joint Declaration was approved highlighting the common values and objectives and cooperation between the two organizations in the Indo-Pacific and in areas such as connectivity, green transition, energy transition and digital transition. Likewise, the Summit endorsed the so-called EU-ASEAN Action Plan 2023- 2027, which envisages collaboration in the aforementioned areas, as well as cooperation in matters such as sustainable trade, promotion of decent work, prevention of emergencies, enhanced cooperation in security or the recovery of COVID-19.
Bilateral meetings
In the margins of this Summit, the President of the Government held bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Pam Minh Chính Chính, and the President of the Republic of the Philippines, Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
During the bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Vietnam, which coincided with the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Spanish Embassy in Hanoi, Pedro Sánchez stressed Spain’s interest in expanding cooperation with Vietnam, a market with great opportunities for Spanish companies in areas such as renewable energy, digitalization, security and defense, infrastructure and tourism.
Likewise, in the meeting with the Philippine president, the head of the Executive highlighted the role of development cooperation and recalled that the Philippines is the only country in Asia included as a priority in the Master Plan for Spanish Cooperation. The two leaders expressed their commitment to strengthen their diplomatic, economic, trade and tourism relations.
