EU-Asean Meeting To Enhance Trade And Investment Ties With Southeast Asia

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah SINGAPORE, March 30 (Bernama) -- The European Union and Asean are set to further strengthen their trade and investment relations at the EU-Asean meeting in Phnom Penh next week. EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht will head to Phnom Penh on Saturday to meet Asean economic ministers and attend the Second Asean-EU Business Summit on April 1. "The meeting with Southeast Asia economic ministers and the second Asean-EU Business Summit this year underlines our dedication to engage Asean member states and the private sector in the region to strengthen our economic ties. "Given the economic dynamism of the Asean region, I see considerable opportunities for working more closely together in the coming years," said De Gucht in a statement from Brussels released by the EU Delegation office here on Friday. De Gucht will meet economic and trade Ministers from the 10 Asean member states during the annual Asean Economic Ministers' Summit where he will discuss possibilities to enhance trade and investment relations between the 27-member EU and Asean. He will also hold individual meetings with his Asean colleagues to discuss bilateral trade issues. The Business Summit will help promote dialogues between governments and the private sector and intensify business-to-business relations. The EU aims to open up new trade and business opportunities in this fast- growing region and create strong partnerships which support Asean's economic integration. The EU has increased its economic ties with Southeast Asia by opening negotiations for free trade agreements with Singapore and Malaysia in 2010 and remains open to start negotiating similar comprehensive free trade agreements with other partners in the region. These bilateral agreements are considered building blocks for a future free trade agreement with the whole region. This year's events coincide with the 35th anniversary of the inception of official relations between the EU and Asean. Asean comprises Brunei Darussalam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. As a whole, Asean represents the EU's 5th largest trading partner, with 206 billion euros (US$275 billion) of trade in goods and services. The EU is Asean's third largest trading partner after China and Japan, accounting for 10.7 per cent of Asean's trade. The EU is by far the largest investor in Asean countries, with companies from EU member countries accounting for an average of 20.6 per cent foreign direct investments share during the 2008-2010 period. -- BERNAMA