On Wednesday, European Union and Asean leaders gathered in Brussels to celebrate 45 years of partnership between the world's two most successful projects of regional integration. This is a natural partnership based on shared support for the UN Charter, a rules-based international order and sustainable multilateralism, as well as on a fruitful dialogue on the most pressing international and regional issues and multifaceted cooperation aimed at common benefit and global prosperity.
The European Union recognises the centrality of Asean in the Indo-Pacific region, as political relevance, economic dynamism, and demographic weight make Southeast Asian countries key players in shaping the international order and in addressing global challenges -- and, increasingly, as key strategic interlocutors for the EU. The elevation of EU-Asean relations to a Strategic Partnership in December 2020, followed by the adoption of the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific in 2021, confirms the growing interest by the EU to increase its presence in this part of the world for constructive engagement and fruitful partnership, contributing to security, growth and prosperity in the region.
While global stability is at stake, with Russia's unprovoked and unjustifiable war of aggression against Ukraine, the deepening crisis in Myanmar and ongoing tensions in the Indo-Pacific area, the EU is ready to engage as a constructive dialogue partner, seeking to join Asean-led security mechanisms, including the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the Asean Defence Ministers Meeting-Plus (ADMM plus), a platform for Asean and dialogue partners to strengthen security and defence cooperation and promote peace and stability. The EU is already successfully engaging in the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) and participated in the EAS and ADMM plus as Guest of the Chair this year.
