Towards a dynamic Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) ?

The Asia‐Europe Meeting (ASEM) launched in 1996 is into its 17th year, and has expanded from a membership of 26 to 51. ASEM membership is made up of 10 ASEAN countries, the ASEAN Secretariat, China, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand and Russia on the...

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Main Author: Yeo, Lay Hwee
Other Authors: EU Centre in Singapore
Format: Working Paper
Language:English
Published: 2014
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/103878
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/19395
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
Language: English
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-1038782020-09-26T21:51:52Z Towards a dynamic Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) ? Yeo, Lay Hwee EU Centre in Singapore DRNTU::Social sciences::Political science::International relations The Asia‐Europe Meeting (ASEM) launched in 1996 is into its 17th year, and has expanded from a membership of 26 to 51. ASEM membership is made up of 10 ASEAN countries, the ASEAN Secretariat, China, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand and Russia on the Asian side, and the 27 EU member states, the European Commission, Norway and Switzerland on the European side. Yet, with such impressive and diverse membership accounting for around 60% of the world’s population, 50% of global GDP, and up to 60% of world trade, it remains relatively unknown in the public domain. There is also a palpable sense that not all is well as interest in ASEM (particularly among the leaders) may wane without adequate follow‐up actions, concrete deliverables and improved visibility. The challenges faced by ASEM were discussed in a recent Symposium in Yangzhou organised by the Chinese government and co‐sponsored by Laos, India, Poland and the Asia‐Europe Foundation (ASEF). Into its 17th year, ASEM remains essentially a forum for dialogue. After an initial euphoria following the launch of the inaugural summit in Bangkok in 1996, symbolising Asia’s and Europe’s commitment to step up engagement with each other, ASEM has since been plagued by the perennial questions of its lack of effectiveness, efficacy and visibility, and doubts about sustained interest by its political leaders in light of the lack of concrete deliverables. This paper drawn in part from an earlier article on The Asia‐Europe Meeting (ASEM) in the Palgrave Handbook on EU‐Asia Relations (2013), and from the discussions at the above ASEM Symposium, will begin with an examination of the on‐going debates with regards to the challenges faced by ASEM and the various suggestions to address some of these challenges. The paper will conclude with some observations on the real issues behind these debates and a prognosis on the future development of ASEM. 2014-05-20T06:06:56Z 2019-12-06T21:22:08Z 2014-05-20T06:06:56Z 2019-12-06T21:22:08Z 2013 2013 Working Paper Yeo, L. H. (2013). Towards a Dynamic Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM)? (EUC Working Paper, No. 14). Singapore: EU Centre. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/103878 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/19395 en EUC working paper, No. 14-13 © 2013 EU Centre in Singapore. 8 p. application/pdf
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
country Singapore
collection DR-NTU
language English
topic DRNTU::Social sciences::Political science::International relations
spellingShingle DRNTU::Social sciences::Political science::International relations
Yeo, Lay Hwee
Towards a dynamic Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) ?
description The Asia‐Europe Meeting (ASEM) launched in 1996 is into its 17th year, and has expanded from a membership of 26 to 51. ASEM membership is made up of 10 ASEAN countries, the ASEAN Secretariat, China, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand and Russia on the Asian side, and the 27 EU member states, the European Commission, Norway and Switzerland on the European side. Yet, with such impressive and diverse membership accounting for around 60% of the world’s population, 50% of global GDP, and up to 60% of world trade, it remains relatively unknown in the public domain. There is also a palpable sense that not all is well as interest in ASEM (particularly among the leaders) may wane without adequate follow‐up actions, concrete deliverables and improved visibility. The challenges faced by ASEM were discussed in a recent Symposium in Yangzhou organised by the Chinese government and co‐sponsored by Laos, India, Poland and the Asia‐Europe Foundation (ASEF). Into its 17th year, ASEM remains essentially a forum for dialogue. After an initial euphoria following the launch of the inaugural summit in Bangkok in 1996, symbolising Asia’s and Europe’s commitment to step up engagement with each other, ASEM has since been plagued by the perennial questions of its lack of effectiveness, efficacy and visibility, and doubts about sustained interest by its political leaders in light of the lack of concrete deliverables. This paper drawn in part from an earlier article on The Asia‐Europe Meeting (ASEM) in the Palgrave Handbook on EU‐Asia Relations (2013), and from the discussions at the above ASEM Symposium, will begin with an examination of the on‐going debates with regards to the challenges faced by ASEM and the various suggestions to address some of these challenges. The paper will conclude with some observations on the real issues behind these debates and a prognosis on the future development of ASEM.
author2 EU Centre in Singapore
author_facet EU Centre in Singapore
Yeo, Lay Hwee
format Working Paper
author Yeo, Lay Hwee
author_sort Yeo, Lay Hwee
title Towards a dynamic Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) ?
title_short Towards a dynamic Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) ?
title_full Towards a dynamic Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) ?
title_fullStr Towards a dynamic Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) ?
title_full_unstemmed Towards a dynamic Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) ?
title_sort towards a dynamic asia-europe meeting (asem) ?
publishDate 2014
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/103878
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/19395
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