'Cooperation needed at all levels of Asem'
Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday asked leaders from Asia and Europe to show political commitment to the Asia Europe Meeting (Asem) and to promote cooperation at all levels to make the forum more meaningful.
In his speech at the end of the sixth Asem summit, Thaksin also welcomed the decision to welcome more members to the forum and to issue a statement on climate change. "We need to keep up to reinforce our partnership, and keep in mind Asem's open and evolutionary character," he said. Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said Bulgaria and Romania would be the new Asem members from Europe's side, while India, Pakistan and Mongolia would be the new Asian members. The meeting ended with an agreement to institutionalise Asian-European cooperation by setting up coordinators at ministerial level, an Asem virtual secretariat and promoting cooperation at the private sector level. Thaksin thanked former Singaporean prime minister Goh Chok Tong for proposing the creation of the Asem forum during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting in 1994 in Bogor, Indonesia, which he had attended as Thailand's foreign minister. Thaksin said he responded positively to Goh's initiative to have Thailand host the first Asem meeting, which was subsequently held in Bangkok in 1996. However, Asem's agenda has been affected by world events since then, he said. Wen Jiabao, premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, which will host the next Asem summit in 2008, said it was imperative that Asem leaders adopt a long-term strategy for future cooperation. "We should set the following goal for Asem: making Asia and Europe more influential in addressing major global issues through expanding dialogue and cooperation," Jiabao said. The last day of the meeting coincided with the fifth anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks in the US. Finland, as the current holder of the European Union president, issued a statement to reiterate its condemnation of all forms of terrorism. Thaksin on Sunday had separate meetings with Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico during which he expressed confidence that his Thai Rak Thai Party would win the next general election, now expected in November. Thaksin said he told Fico about Thailand's various bilateral trade agreements and offered the country as a gateway to Asia for Slovakia. During his meeting with Ansip, Thaksin called for cooperation in the private sector and thanked the Estonian leader for sending athletes to compete in the Asem Youth Games in Bangkok last year.
Jeerawat Na Thalang The Nation Helsinki
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