In 2012, the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) developed an “Outlook Report” that set out to offer an analysis of the future of Asia-Europe relations and its implications on the ASEM process. The two-volume publication included both quantitative indicators and perceptions, offering separate but complementary sets of insights into the status and future possibilities for Asia-Europe relations. The final publication, entitled ASEM Outlook Report 2012 – Foresight is 20/20: Scenario Building for Policy Analysis and Strategy Development was designed to contribute to the 9th ASEM Summit, which took place in Vientiane, Lao PDR in November 2012.
In 2014, ASEF developed a follow-up Outlook Report that took as its focus key developments that had taken place in the interim, offering an analysis of major trends that represented the key challenges and opportunities for Asia-Europe relations in the forthcoming years.
The publication, titled ASEF Outlook Report 2014/2015 – Facts & Perspectives is ASEF’s lead contribution to the 10th ASEM Summit that took place in Milan, Italy from 16–17 October 2014. The theme of the Summit, “Responsible Partnership for Sustainable Growth and Security”, was closely aligned to key issues that were addressed as part of the Outlook Report.
By offering an analysis of emerging global and regional challenges associated with sustainable growth and development, the publication should be of major interest to governments and others that have a strong interest in the evolution of Asia-Europe relations. The report also contributes to a better understanding among Asian and European countries on how to reshape growth in a way that delivers upon the economic, social, and environmental responsibilities required by sustainable development.
The ASEF Outlook Report 2014/2015 was launched by ASEF’s Executive Director Ambassador Zhang Yan during his address at the Senior Officials of the ASEM Summit on 15 October 2014.
A follow-up launch in Asia was organised on 10 April 2015 in conjunction with the Model ASEM Singapore 2015. For more information, please see the project updates in the below section.
