Date of release : 09-03-2005

Policy area : General Affairs and External Relations

Event : Ministerial Meeting EU-ASEAN

On 10 March 2005, Jean Asselborn, Minister for Foreign Affairs and current President of the Council of the European Union, will co-preside the 15th Ministerial Meeting between the European Union and the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

The Ministerial Meeting in Jakarta aims to consolidate and advance the cooperation between the two regions on the basis of the "New Partnership with South East Asia" adopted by the European Union in July 2003.

The meeting will take stock of existing co-operation, including in the fight against terrorism and trans-border crime and consider possible new areas for co-operation.

The European Union wishes to develop its dialogue with ASEAN on commercial matters and extend it to other issues of common interests, such as the fight against drugs, the environment, migration, information society, education and transport.

During their meeting, the participants will also discuss the follow-up of the Extraordinary ASEAN Summit of 6 January 2005, which focused on the tsunami in Southeast Asia on 26 December 2004.

Finally, the ministers will address a number of topical international and regional issues, such as the situation in the Middle East and in Asia Pacific, including the Korean Peninsula.