The German Presidency of the Council of the European Union will host the 16th Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the European Union (EU) and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Nuremberg on 14 and 15 March 2007.
Some 40 ministerial delegations from the EU Member States and the ten ASEAN countries will travel to Germany for this event, which will be co-chaired by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Namhong. Javier Solana, the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy and a number of EU Commissioners will also be in attendance.
The EU-ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting takes place every two years. The last meeting was held in Jakarta in March 2005. Cooperation between the EU and ASEAN in the political, security policy and economic fields has constantly grown over the past years. ASEAN itself is pursuing an ambitious integration process and is increasingly becoming a motor for confidence building in the region and an internationally sought after partner.
The aim of the Nuremberg Meeting is, on this foundation, to work together for security and stability in Asia. A recent example of such cooperation was the successful joint Monitoring Mission in the conflict-torn province of Aceh, Indonesia. This year's Meeting has additional significance, for at it the partners will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of their relations.
ASEAN brings together the countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Viet Nam, Myanmar, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Cambodia.
The conference is an integral part of the German EU Presidency's active Asian policy. For further information on the event, including organizational notes and the press programme, please consult the German Presidency website at www.eu2007.de.
