ASEF in collaboration with the United Nations University-Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS) organised a presentation of the key findings of their new ASEM Outlook Report 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand on 11 March 2013. Held at the Chulalongkorn University, the event was attended by around 50 representatives from international organisations, embassies, universities, the media, and the private sector.
The two-volume ASEM Outlook Report examines the current status of Asia-Europe relations, the perceived relations and looks at the future trends in four distinct policy areas: security and conflict management, economic and financial integration, environmental governance, and public health.
The key message of the report urges Asian and European countries to move from dialogue to more concrete cooperation. The report recommends the creation of bi-regional strategic partnerships centred on mutual interests in targeted fields. Finally, the report maps the changing role of non-state actors and advocates greater civil society consultation in policy formulation and implementation.
The presentation on the report was followed by a panel discussion featuring experts examining different priority issues for Asia and Europe. These priorities included non-traditional security threats, economic stability and crisis prevention, environmental governance and pandemic preparedness. The panel discussed the future trends and challenges facing each region, and potential areas for further cooperation between the two regions.
The Bangkok event was jointly hosted by the Faculty of Economics, the MA in European Studies programme and the Centre for European Studies of Chulalongkorn University. This event will be followed by a presentation in Europe.