VINACHEM

DA NANG — The European Union (EU) is seeking to push economic links with ASEAN, said EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht at a media conference in Da Nang yesterday, on the sidelines of the 42nd ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meeting.

This is the first time in three years that an EU representative has participated in such a meeting.

The EU Trade Commissioner said his participation at the meeting presented an opportunity to intensify trade and economic relations with ASEAN as a group, after the negotiations for a region-to-region Free Trade Agreement (FTA) were put on hold last year.

The commissioner said he had held a number of useful bilateral meetings with trade ministers from various Asian countries.

"I came here to underline Europe's desire for greater economic and political engagement with ASEAN," said De Gucht. "ASEAN as a region is becoming one of the most dynamic parts of the world."

"The people in both the EU and the countries of South East Asia will benefit if we manage to strengthen our trade links in the coming years," he said.

De Gucht said that to underline the renewed sense of engagement, the commissioner and ASEAN ministers had agreed to meet regularly at annual ASEAN Economic Ministers' Meetings.

They also announced that the first ever ASEAN-EU business summit would be held next year to raise awareness about business and investment opportunities in both regions.

Trade between the EU and ASEAN was already now substantial, the commissioner said. Bilateral merchandise trade last year reached 118 billion euros (US$150 billion), more than 5 per cent of the total EU trade.

The EU is ASEAN's second biggest trading partner behind China and by far the largest investor in the region, accounting for 24.5 per cent of total investment ahead of Japan with 15 per cent, and the US with 8 per cent. ASEAN is the fifth biggest trading partner of the EU.

Back to old levels

De Gucht noted that ASEAN managed the recent crisis remarkably well and that now, all ASEAN countries have strong growth rates, which were almost back to pre-crisis levels.

In the consultation between the EU Trade Commissioner and ASEAN economic ministers yesterday, ministers also expressed their commitment to further strengthen trade relations and economic co-operation between ASEAN and the EU and underscored the importance of renewed engagement.

They reiterated their commitment to remain outward looking, fight economic protectionism and maintain trade and investment policies that would underpin sustainable economic growth.

They reaffirmed that the Doha Development Agenda is a priority for both ASEAN and the EU, stressing the importance of achieving an early, ambitious and balanced conclusion.

Ministers also pledged to encourage the intensification of contact between ASEAN and EU officials in areas of mutual interest such as trade facilitation, intellectual property rights and trade in goods and services.

They asked officials to build on existing trade and economic co-operation activities with particular attention to the less developed countries in ASEAN.

The EU and ASEAN launched negotiations for a regional FTA in May 2007 but progress was slower than expected and both sides agreed to temporarily suspend negotiations in March last year.

De Gucht said that the EU is now exploring bilateral FTAs with some individual ASEAN countries.

(Source: VNS)