EU, ASEAN Foreign Ministers meet on furthering cooperation

Foreign Ministers of the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathered in Brussels, Belgium, on January 21, to discuss enhancing their cooperation across many fields.

Illustrative image (Source: adserver.bworldonline.com)
Illustrative image (Source: adserver.bworldonline.com)

Under the co-chair of High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, and Singaporean Foreign Minister, Vivian Balakrishnan, the two sides are expected to discuss their partnership in dealing with regional and global issues, including global challenges such as climate change and shoring up principle-based multilateral systems.

The ministers will also share their views on recent developments in the EU and ASEAN.

The meeting also offers a chance for the two sides to review their bilateral ties and strategic cooperation, thus looking for ways to strengthen the ties, particularly priorities in 2019, such as fighting terrorism, trans-national crime, maritime security and cyber security.

The 10 members of ASEAN are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.