The ASEAN-EU Coordinating Meeting was held on 13 October 2015 in Bangkok. The Meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Noppadon Theppitak, Deputy Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and Mr. Ugo Astuto, Acting Managing Director of the Asia-Pacific Department of the European External Action Service.

The Meeting reviewed the ASEAN-EU Enhanced Partnership and discussed its future direction in wide range areas of cooperation, be they political-security, economic/trade, and social-cultural spheres. The Meeting also discussed how to develop a ‘Roadmap’ to work towards a Strategic Partnership as mandated by the 20th ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting, on 23 July 2014 and the ASEAN-EU Senior Officials’ Meeting held on 2 July 2015 in Brussels. Both sides also agreed to the further enhancement of Bandar Seri Begawan Plan of Action.

Particular emphasis was placed on issues of mutual interest and benefit for ASEAN and the EU to be further strengthened, such as maritime cooperation, cooperation in addressing trans-national crime and counter-terrorism, connectivity, ASEAN-EU FTA negotiation, climate change, environment and disaster management. ASEAN and the EU also paid special attention to the challenge of irregular migration and trafficking in persons, which have recently become a global concern.

ASEAN and the EU agreed that growth in trade, investment and tourism ties were good for both regions. The EU underlined that it is ASEAN’s largest trading partner and the biggest provider of foreign direct investment (FDI) in ASEAN. Both sides stressed the importance of enhancing ASEAN Connectivity through implementation of the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity (MPAC) by sharing lessons learnt at both national and regional level, especially in the border management area.    

Thailand, as Country Coordinator for ASEAN-EU Dialogue Relations for the next three years, will continue to work closely together with the EU to strengthen this partnership for mutual benefits.