Asia-Europe meeting sets out on road to new ties
Asia-Europe meeting sets out on road to new ties
BANGKOK (Reuter): Following is a partial text of the closing statement of the inaugural Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) which ended yesterday:
"The Meeting discussed a wide range of issues and provided the opportunity for the Heads to share their concerns and aspirations, and develop a common vision of the future.
"The Meeting recognized the need to strive for a common goal of maintaining and enhancing peace and stability, as well as creating conditions conducive for economic and social development. To this end the Meeting forged a new comprehensive Asia-Europe Partnership for Greater Growth. This partnership aims at strengthening links between Asia and Europe thereby contributing to peace, global stability and prosperity. In this connection, the Meeting underscored the importance of both Asia and Europe maintaining dialogue with other regions...
"The dialogue among the participating countries should be conducted on the basis of mutual respect, equality, promotion of fundamental rights and, in accordance with the rules of international law and obligations, non-intervention, whether direct or indirect, in each other's internal affairs...
"The Meeting also agreed to cooperate in promoting the effective reform and greater democratization of the UN system...
"The Meeting agreed on the importance of strengthening global initiatives on arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and reaffirmed that Asian and European countries will enhance cooperation in these fields... The Leaders reiterated their determination to pursue systematic and progressive efforts to reduce nuclear weapons globally with the ultimate goal of eliminating those weapons and of general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international controls...
"The Meeting recognized the great potential for synergy between Asia and Europe on account of the economic dynamism and diversity of the two regions. Asia's emergence as an immense market has spawned great demand for consumer goods, capital equipment, financing and infrastructure. Europe, on the other hand, is a major market in the world for goods, investments and services, even more so since the completion of the Single Market. Opportunities thus exist for both regions to expand the market for goods, capital equipment and infrastructure development projects, and to increase the flows of capital, expertise and technology.
"The Meeting recognized that the growing economic links between the two regions form the basis for a strong partnership between Asia and Europe. To further strengthen this partnership, the Meeting expressed its resolve to generate greater two-way trade and investment flows between Asia and Europe. Such a partnership should be based on the common commitment to market economy, open multilateral trading system, non-discriminatory liberalization and open regionalism...
"To promote greater trade and investment between Asia and Europe, the Meeting agreed to undertake facilitation and liberalization measures involving the simplification and improvement of customs procedures and standards conformance. ASEM will also aim for the reduction of trade barriers to avoid trade distortion and create better market access thus encouraging greater trade flows between Asia and Europe. The Meeting underscored the urgent need to increase European investments in Asia from their present low levels, as well as to encourage Asian investments in Europe...
"The meeting agreed to encourage the business and private sectors, including small and medium sized enterprises of the two regions, to strengthen their cooperation... For this purpose, the Meeting agreed to establish in due course an Asia-Europe Business Forum...
"The Meeting agreed to the following follow-up measures:
* A Foreign Ministers' meeting would be held in 1997
* An Economic Ministers' meeting would be held in Japan in 1997...
* An informal Senior Officials' meeting would be held in Brussels on ways to promote economic cooperation...
* A meeting of Government and Private Sector Working Group would be convened in Thailand to draw up within six months an Asia-Europe Investment Promotion Action Plan...
* An Asia-Europe Business Forum would hold its inaugural meeting in France in 1996 and the next meeting in Thailand...
The meeting also agreed to consider the following:
* A meeting of Finance Ministers;
* An Asia-Europe Cooperation Framework that will spell out the principles and mechanisms for long-term Asia-Europe cooperation in political, economic, social and other areas...
"The Meeting agreed to hold the Second ASEM in two years' time in the United Kingdom and the Third ASEM in the Republic of Korea in the year 2000."