On Monday 19 April, the Council of the European Union tasked the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European Commission with presenting a joint communication on cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region by September 2021.
In its conclusions, the EU Council underlines the EU’s intention to strengthen its strategic orientation, presence and actions in this region of key strategic importance for the EU’s interests.
“The Council agrees that the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific will provide a new impetus for us to work with our partners in the region, support the international community’s global agenda, advance our economic agenda and protect our supply chains, play our part in the field of security and defence, ensure high quality connectivity and advance our cooperation in the field of research, innovation and digitalisation”, the conclusions state.
For the EU, the Indo-Pacific region encompasses the geographical area from the east coast of Africa to the Pacific Island States.
See the conclusions: https://bit.ly/3an7yrO (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)