Dialog key to stronger EU-ASEAN cooperation
Dialog key to stronger EU-ASEAN cooperation
JAKARTA (JP): Improved dialog between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU) will be critical to promoting cooperation, the union's ambassador to Indonesia, Klauspeter Schmallenbach, said yesterday.
"Looking to the future, we can certainly predict that dialog between the EU and ASEAN is going to be more intense and fecund than ever. ASEAN will remain a cornerstone of the EU's dialog with Asian countries," he told members of the Indonesia- Netherlands Association.
The EU, with its 15 member states, has become one of ASEAN's largest trading partners, an important source of private investment and a major donor of development assistance.
Rapid economic growth in most ASEAN countries has led to the expansion of trade between the two regions. Since 1980, ASEAN's total two-way trade with the EU increased by an impressive 460 percent. The EU's exports to the ASEAN region rose from 5.5 billion European Currency Units (US$ 7.26 billion) in 1980 to 27.8 billion ECUs last year, while the EU's imports from the ASEAN increased from 7 billion ECUs to 30 billion ECUs.
For Indonesia, over the period of 1967-1994, the EU had over US$22 billion in approved investments, or 24 percent of total foreign investments for non-financial and non-oil sectors in Indonesia.
Despite the impressive growth in trade and investment cooperation between the two regions, Smallenbach added that there are still differences of opinion on issues of anti-dumping, the so-called social clause on labor rights and green protectionism.
An economic cooperation package has been created by the EU to facilitate the development of stronger economic relations with ASEAN, he said.
The package includes the establishment of an information network called the European Business Information Center, which will operate in cooperation with the member states' business organizations, including their chambers of commerce.
The business center will also assist Asian companies seeking to do business in Europe and European companies entering ASEAN markets.(10)