At the 11thASEM Summit (ASEM11) held on 15-16 July 2016, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, ASEM leaders decided to designate an ASEM Day, “Asia meets Europe/Europe meets Asia Day”and recommended celebrating it annually on 1 March or any day during the first week of March as appropriate, with a view to underlining ASEM’s importance and raising its visibility.
Following this mandate, many ASEM partners have commemorated the event in their respective countries. Among them was Cambodia, where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia (MFAIC) together with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of Cambodia (MoEYS), and Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) hosted an ASEM Day celebration under the theme “ASEM in 3rd Decade” on 6 March 2017 in Phnom Penh.
During the event, MFAIC and ASEF representatives reflected on past initiatives and explored possible joint ones in the future. This was followed by a seminar that highlighted the roles of ASEM and ASEF, which was attended by approximately 600 participants, including university students, lecturers and school management. Held at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia, the seminar was opened by HE Mr Prak SOKHONN, Senior Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Cambodia. The event ended with a presentation on ASEM by HE Dr Sok SIPHANA, Adviser to the Royal Government of Cambodia and ASEM Senior Official, and a presentation on ASEF and ASEF’s youth activities by Ambassador Karsten WARNECKE, Executive Director of ASEF.
To learn more about ASEF’s upcoming youth activities and education projects, please click here.