On 13 and 14 October 2016, Luxembourg’s Minister for Foreign and European Affairs, Jean Asselborn, took part in the 21st EU-ASEAN (Association for Southeast Asian Nations) ministerial meeting in Bangkok, Thailand.
The event was the 21st meeting between the European Union’s Ministers of Foreign Affairs and their counterparts in ASEAN, which took place just before the 40th anniversary of bilateral relations between the two bodies, at a crucial point in their history.
In this context, the ministers adopted a new roadmap entitled ‘Bangkok Roadmap for Elevating the ASEAN-EU Enhanced Partnership to a Strategic Level (2016-17)’. The creation of this map has strengthened relations between the EU and ASEAN at a strategic level, encompassing all sectors of common interest, particularly that of security policies, the economy and the socio-cultural domain.
At the meeting, Minister Asselborn discussed the promotion of better cooperation with regard to handling natural disasters and the fight against climate change. He highlighted the importance of together overcoming the planet’s challenges and, more specifically, the challenges of Asian countries which are particularly implicated. Following this, he described innovative tools designed in Luxembourg: Emergency.lu, Green Climate Fund, and Green bonds.
Outside of the ministerial meeting, Minister Asselborn met with several of his counterparts in the region in an attempt to highlight bilateral relations and the current international and European political situation.
Photo: MAEE
