ASEAN Refuses to Follow EU in Condemning Russia.

Way to go ASEAN, reactivate NAM! Malaysia was represented by KSU (State Sec). 

18 Dis 2022

The first leaders' summit between the EU and ASEAN was held. Despite the joint statement after the meeting, which emphasized that ASEAN and the EU are strategic partners with common interests and reached positive results at the summit. However, the two sides still have huge differences and did not achieve the previously expected results.

The EU and ASEAN agreed on trade cooperation. But ASEAN leaders have been hoping for an inter-regional trade agreement, rather than the separate bilateral trade negotiations that now exist. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said ASEAN is not interested in always receiving aid, preferring to see complementarity between the economies of the East and West regions. In fact, relations between the EU and ASEAN have been growing steadily since they became "dialogue partners" 45 years ago. As two regional organizations, the East and the West are natural partners and share common interests in many areas. ASEAN's growing economic strength and population size can bring new opportunities for the EU. Last year, the trade volume between the two sides reached about $270 billion. With European countries in deep energy crisis, some ASEAN countries are likely to become new energy suppliers for the EU, so it is imperative to strengthen cooperation between the two sides.