South Korea wants stronger role for ASEM in Asian trade, global economy

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia – In a keynote address to the opening session of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) here, South Korea’s President, Park Geun-hye, has called for ASEM to adopt a more pro-active stance in terms of trade and economic policies. “Now is the time to talk about ways to solidify the foundation of free trade around the world and to address economic gaps among nations,” she said.

South Korea is a founding member of ASEM, which was formed in 1996 with 15 EU member States and seven ASEAN member States, plus China, Japan and Korea. Today, it brings together 28 EU member States, two other European countries and 21 Asian countries.

“Each country should work to reap benefits from open, free trade, as well as join forces to spur creative innovation that opens a new driving force to lead our economies,” Park said. “I hope that the ASEM Summit this time will provide an impetus to the spread of free trade across our regions, with inclusive growth and creative innovation.”

She continued: “Constant threats to peace and security, such as North Korea's nuclear weapons programme, and, recently, Britain’s divorce from the EU, make us doubt not only the matter of the unity of Europe, but also the sustainability of the international order, which is based on globalisation, regional unity, multilateralism and free trade.
“In tackling these global challenges, ASEM should play a central and a leading role with our close partnership.”

“ASEM's role should be strengthened to drive connectivity and unity among member States in this bloc. There is a need to transform the procedures at ASEM summits so that talks can bring about more economic co-operation and more connectivity among member States. The way in which agenda items are discussed during talks should be improved so that all member states can have two-way discussions on issues of mutual interest.”  (ATI).