The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) in collaboration with its partners organised the 12th Asia Europe Economic Forum (AEEF12) on 1-2 October 2015 in Paris, France. Centre d’Etudes Prospectives et d’Informations Internationales (CEPII) was the host for this year’s forum. The discussions at this high-level meeting focused on the topic of “Global Governance of Public Goods: Asian & European Perspectives”.
The forum examined a number of key issues in both regions, including global imbalances, slowdown in international trade, monetary policy, the economics of climate change, and the multilateral system. Thierry SCHWARZ of ASEF opened up the session on the Economics of Climate Change Ahead of COP21, outlining ASEF’s projects in Energy and Climate Change implemented in China, Kazakhstan, Thailand, and France in conjunction with its partner, the Asia Centre.
Among other keynote speakers was Mr Pascal LAMY, former Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). He noted that leadership, efficiency, and legitimacy is a Bermuda Triangle in the context of global governance, in that there is a gap in the global structure that addresses all three requirements of effective international governance. Another keynote address was delivered by Mr Jean LEMIERRE, Director and Chair of the Board of Directors for the BNP Paribas Group, who remarked, “Leaders need to share common values and act together for the best for their economies and their people”.
A full conference report will be made available soon on ASEF website. The next AEEF conference will take place in the second half of 2016 in China.