ASEAN, EU representatives at the meeting (Photo: VNA) Brussels (VNA) – A meeting of senior officials from the EuropeanUnion (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that tookplace in Brussels on February 10-11 reaffirmed to boost cooperation in the areasof shared interests.
The two sides discussed numerous measures to further promote comprehensivepartnership from assistance for natural disaster control and climate change responseto cooperation in education, scientific research, marine security, cybersecurity,sustainable development, and support for ASEAN small- and medium-sized enterprises.
Besides, they focused on discussing the circular economy, open and rules-based tradeand the importance in enhancing exchange, investment and connectivity,especially the early completion of an ASEAN-EU comprehensive agreement onaviation transportation, smart city development, as well as dialogues onpolitical and security issues of common concern.
The EU is the second largest trade partner of ASEAN with bilateral tradehitting 282.2 billion USD in 2018, up 8.1 percent from a year earlier. It also ASEAN’slargest source of foreign investment with total FDI reaching 22 billion USD in2018.
The EU affirmed their support for ASEAN’s central role, and considered the groupingan important partner./.
VNA
