Asians invite India, Mongolia, Pakistan to join ASEM

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Asians invite India, Mongolia, Pakistan to join ASEM

HELSINKI (AFP) - Asian leaders invited India, Mongolia and Pakistan to join future gatherings of ASEM, the only forum dedicated to dialogue between Europe and Asia, Japanese officials said.

The invitation came as leaders and top officials from 38 Asian and European nations began two days of talks on trade and security issues in the capital of Finland, which holds the EU's rotating presidency.

"Asian leaders agreed to propose the accession of three countries -- India, Mongolia, and Pakistan -- to the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) to their European counterparts here," a Japanese official told reporters on Sunday.

The addition of the three Asian countries will lessen the imbalance in the forum, where the European Union's 25 members outweigh the 13 Asian countries currently in the club.

The EU will grow to 27 member states next year if Bulgaria and Romania join the bloc as scheduled.

ASEM is widely seen as being long on talk and short on substance and is still trying to prove its relevance despite having 10 years of existence behind it.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060910/wl_sthasia_afp/asemeuasiaenlarge_060910134024

 

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Pakistan formally admitted as Asia Europe Meeting member

Pakistan has been formally admitted as a member of the Asia Europe Meeting, the Foreign Office statement said on Tuesday.
The announcement was made at Helsinki on September 11, following the sixth ASEM Summit, the statement said.

The membership of Pakistan from the Asian side was endorsed by ASEAN and China, Japan and Republic of Korea.

The Government of Pakistan is grateful to the support extended by all ASEM members, a Foreign Ministry statement said.

The Asia-Europe Meeting is an informal process of dialogue and cooperation initiated in 1996.

Twenty five EU Member States, the European Commission and thirteen Asian countries (Brunei, Myanmar, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) participate in the process.

Dialogue under the rubric of ASEM addresses political, economic and cultural issues in order to strengthen the relationship between the two regions.

Pakistan's admission to ASEM is an acknowledgement of the important role Pakistan is playing in the international arena, the statement said.

It is also a manifest recognition by the international community of Pakistan's vital geo-strategic position and its ability to contribute towards ASEM process, it said.
Pakistan is ready and committed to play a most useful role in furthering the ASEM process.

http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-235/0609126691183553.htm