ASEM begins amid concern over commitment to Asia's growth<\/p>\n
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The fifth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) kicks off on Monday in
\nDenpasar, Bali, amid growing concern in Asian countries about
\ntheir European counterparts' commitment to providing economic
\nsupport.<\/p>\n
High on the agenda are several pressing regional issues like
\nthe postwar situation in Iraq, the North Korea nuclear crisis and
\ncounterterrorism alliances between the two continents.<\/p>\n
All foreign ministers from 10 Asian countries -- Brunei
\nDarussalam, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the
\nPhilippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam -- have confirmed
\ntheir participation in the four-day meeting, while from the
\nEuropean side, only three of the 15 European Union (EU) members
\nplan to send their foreign ministers -- Italy, Belgium and
\nIreland.<\/p>\n
The low-level participation by European countries had raised
\nquestions about their seriousness in boosting cooperation with
\ntheir Asian partners.<\/p>\n
Ministry of foreign affairs spokesman Marty Natalegawa said
\nover the weekend that Indonesia had hoped that more ministers
\nfrom European countries would come to the four-day meeting.<\/p>\n
\"At this forum we would like to hear about developments in
\nEurope, and not just put us (Asian countries) under the
\nmicroscope,\" Marty said.<\/p>\n
He said the ongoing cooperation between the two continents was
\nnot only in the interests of Asia but of European countries, too.<\/p>\n
The meeting is also being held as EU members discuss the
\nCommon Agricultural Policy (CAP), which worries most developing
\ncountries, whose economic growth depends on the agriculture
\nsector.<\/p>\n
With high-tech agricultural equipment in Europe, it is almost
\nimpossible for developing countries like Indonesia to compete
\nwith Europe's agriculture industry.<\/p>\n
In the long term, the policy will directly affect the overall
\neconomic growth of developing countries like Indonesia, where 70
\npercent of its citizens are farmers.<\/p>\n
Security issues are also likely to dominate discussions during
\nthe meeting.<\/p>\n
EU Commissioner for External Relations Chris Patten, who will
\nbe attending the meeting in Bali, said he would discuss new ways
\nof improving ASEM cooperation in tackling security problems.<\/p>\n
\"Europe and Asia are not only major trading partners, but
\npartners too in the fight against terrorism, organized crime and
\nenvironmental degradation,\" Patten said in a release provided for
\nThe Jakarta Post by EU representatives here.<\/p>\n
\"There are many areas in which we could collaborate more --
\nsecurity, human rights, regional integration and new
\ntechnologies,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The ASEM meeting is slated to seek common approaches to
\naddress issues of terrorism, nonproliferation of weapons of mass
\ndestruction and the situation in Myanmar and North Korea.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Patten is also slated to present a paper titled A
\nNew Partnership with Southeast Asia on regional security and
\nglobal economic governance.<\/p>\n
Two separate documents are expected to be adopted -- the
\nchairman's statement and one on nonproliferation of weapons of
\nmass destruction.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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