EU Ambassador to ASEAN Igor Driesmans and Singapore Ambassador to the EU Lim Hong Huai said on Friday 19 November that there is room for further strengthening of relations between the EU and ASEAN countries, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.
“There are significant overlaps that make it possible to work on a number of issues”, Lim Hong Huai said during a CEPS panel discussion, adding that the Indo-Pacific strategies of both organisations were “very open and inclusive”. “In our strategies, we can identify many common approaches and look at initiatives to work closely together”, he added.
Both ambassadors consider that the EU and ASEAN should strengthen their economic ties (see EUROPE 12790/22), in particular with a free trade agreement between the two blocs. “There are still big gaps in ambition on what we want”, acknowledged the EU ambassador, whose view was shared by his Singaporean counterpart. “It is timely for the EU and ASEAN to work together on a digital economy agreement to establish common standards”, added Lim Hong Huai.
Mr Driesmans explained that the EU wanted to strengthen its support for sustainable infrastructure in the region. In addition, a comprehensive air transport agreement is expected to be signed early next year (see EUROPE 12734/13).
The EU Ambassador to ASEAN also highlighted the area of security. “There is strong interest in the region, with growing tensions”, he explained, recalling that the stability of the South China Sea was important for the EU, as it is an important trade route. He recalled that the EU and ASEAN were already discussing aspects of security and defence, counter-terrorism, and cyber-security, as well as maritime security, hoping for a new dialogue on this subject early next year.
Finally, the EU ambassador called for greater cooperation on a green and sustainable transition. “We want to work much more with ASEAN in this area. There are a lot of activities going on (green technologies, circular economy, clean energy), but we want to take (this cooperation) to a more political level”, he explained. He called for the first EU/ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Environment and Climate Change to be held in 2022 (see EUROPE 12835/25).
For the Singaporean ambassador, the EU and ASEAN could also cooperate on emerging issues of concern such as supply chains or the fight against pandemics.
In 2022, the two regions will celebrate 45 years of dialogue partnership. Mr Driesmans hopes to celebrate this anniversary with a summit of heads of state and government in Brussels to discuss the future of the relationship. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)