This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2010)

The Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM) was officially established in 1996 at the first summit in Bangkok. ASEM is an interregional forum which consists of the European Commission, the twenty-seven members of the European Union (EU), the thirteen members of the ASEAN Plus Three regional grouping,^[1], as of 2008, India, Mongolia, and Pakistan, and as of 2010, Australia, Russia and New Zealand^[2]

Members of the ASEM

The main components of the ASEM process, which has so far been loosely organized, include:

• political dialogue
• security and the economy
• education and culture

or the so-called three pillars.

In general, the process is considered by the parties involved to be a way of deepening the relations between Asia and Europe at all levels, which is deemed necessary to achieve a more balanced political and economic world order. The process is enhanced by the biannual meetings of heads of state, alternately in Europe and Asia, and political, economic, and cultural meetings and events at all kinds of other levels.

Members[link]

ASEM currently has 48 partners: 46 countries and 2 international organizations. The partners are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, European Commission and ASEAN Secretariat.

Meetings[link]

The summits, attended by the heads of state and government of respective members, have been held in:

• ASEM 1: March 1–2, 1996, Bangkok, Thailand
• ASEM 2: April 3–4, 1998, London, United Kingdom
• ASEM 3: October 20–21, 2000, Seoul, South Korea
• ASEM 4: September 22-24, 2002, Copenhagen, Denmark
• ASEM 5: October 8-9, 2004, Hanoi, Vietnam
• ASEM 6: September 10–11, 2006, Helsinki, Finland
• ASEM 7: October 24–25, 2008, Beijing, China
• ASEM 8: October 4-5, 2010, Brussels, Belgium

Next summit to be held:

• ASEM 9: November 5–6, 2012, Vientiane, Laos

Aside of summits, ministerial meetings are being held concerning the cultural, economic, educational, environmental, finance or foreign affairs issues, attended by the relevant Government ministers. The 8th ASEM Foreign Ministers meeting at May 28-29th 2007 in Hamburg was attended by the 10 members of ASEAN, the 27 member countries of the EU, the European Commission, the EU High-Representative Javier Solana, the ASEAN General-Secretariat, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Pakistan and Mongolia. The 9th ASEM Foreign Ministers meeting was held on 25–26 May 2009 in Hanoi, Vietnam.The 10th ASEM Foreign Minister's Meeting was held in Gododllo, Hungary on 06-07 June 2011

Furthermore, ministerial conferences are held when needs arise to discuss specific issues and areas beyond the regular ministerial meetings.

See also[link]

• Asia-Europe Foundation, the only physical institution under ASEM framework.
• Asia-Europe Museum Network
• Association of Southeast Asian Nations
• Eurasia

References[link]

1. ^ Lay Hwee Yeo (2003). Asia and Europe: the development and different dimensions of ASEM. Routledge (UK). ISBN 0-415-30697-3. 
2. ^ ASEM ministers wrap up ‘productive’ session

External links[link]

• ASEM InfoBoard, the official information platform of Asia-Europe Meeting process
• Introduction to Asia-Europe Meeting
• ASEM in Its Tenth Year: Looking Forward, Looking Back
• Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF)
• Asia-Europe Institute (AEI)
• Institute for Asian Studies
• Asia-Europe People's Forum

v t e Foreign relations of the European Union   Bilateral relations Africa & ME Cape Verde Iran Iraq Israel Jordan Lebanon Morocco Palestine† South Africa Syria Yemen Americas Argentina Brazil Canada Cuba Greenland Mexico United States Asia-Pacific Australia China (People's Republic of) Fiji India Indonesia Japan Nepal North Korea Pakistan Philippines South Korea Europe & Central Asia Albania Andorra Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia Cyprus (Turkish Republic of)† Faroe Islands Georgia Iceland Kazakhstan Kosovo† Liechtenstein Macedonia‡ Moldova Monaco Montenegro Norway Russia San Marino Serbia Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Vatican City General Member's overseas territories Largest trading partners Free trade agreements ††= Disputed state, may not be recognised as an independent state by some or all European Union or United Nations members. ‡ Name disputed by Greece, EU recognises the Republic of Macedonia as the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.   Multilateral relations and initiatives Organisations Arab League ASEAN ECHR G8 ICC United Nations Initiatives African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States Asia–Europe Meeting Customs Union Eastern Partnership Energy Community Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly European Common Aviation Area European Economic Area Euro-Mediterranean free trade area Euromediterranean Partnership Euronest Economic Partnership Agreements Neighbourhood Policy Northern Dimension Mediterranean Union Stabilisation and Association Process Association Agreement   Organisation Policy Common Foreign and Security Policy Economic Relations Everything but Arms Security and Defence Policy Enlargement Actors ECHO EuropeAid External Action Service Foreign Affairs Council High Representative Catherine Ashton Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee Foreign Policy Instruments Service Diplomatic missions of the EU / to the EU Ambassadors Special Representatives   Military and security Initiatives Defence Initiative Synch. Armed Forces Europe Defence Procurement Petersberg tasks Helsinki Headline Goal Structures Political and Security Committee Military Committee Military Staff Operations Centre Security & Defence College Defence Agency Institute for Security Studies Satellite Centre Joint Situation Centre Forces Eurofor Euromarfor Battlegroup Gendarmerie Eurocorps Deployments