ASEM and the Management of Global Crises

Abstract

The Seventh Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM 7) which took place in Beijing on October 24 - 25, 2008 at summit level registered the highest attendance in its 12 years history and attracted world-wide attention. The 45 participants reached agreement on combating current global financial crisis and revealed their clear determination to change the current world financial architecture. They expressed their willingness to cooperate and their resolve to use multilateral diplomacy to handle global crises, in harmony with the fundamental objectives of Asia-Europe cooperation.

The importance of the ASEM 7 is confirmed by several factors. It was the first diplomatic Summit since its second round of enlargement in 2006. At present, ASEM member countries account for 50 percent of the world’s Gross National Product (GNP), 58 percent of global population and 60 percent of the world’s total trade volume.

Confronted with the reality of a severe global financial crisis, both Asian and European countries are greatly affected by the threats of economic slowdown and recessions. If in the past, some of them paid insufficient attention to ASEM, during the Beijing Summit they changed to some extent their position, and are now in favor of taking collective measures calibrated to further strengthen cooperation between the two continents in more areas and to find together constructive solutions to global crises, be it in the financial, food, climate change or energy fields. That is why the Beijing Summit’s results have an undeniable strategic value for the world community.

Indeed, the Beijing 2008 consensus illustrates the determination of ASEM’s participants to help regain confidence in the global process of cooperation. Global problems cannot be solved by any individual country or group of countries. They demand global efforts to reach global solutions. The Beijing Declaration on Sustainable Development reflects this reality. The document emphasizes that Asia and Europe will strengthen cooperation on energy security, jointly handle the challenge of climate change and contribute to social harmony.

As an effective forum of multilateralism, ASEM is expected to become a genuine driving force for the future by consolidating its role as a dynavic facilitator in key cooperation areas.

ASEM 8 will take place in Brussels in 2010.