Delivering in the Asia Pacific Region
The Global Ireland: Delivering in the Asia Pacific Region to 2025 strategy draws the roadmap and sets out the milestones in how Ireland will structure and focus its relationship with this increasingly important region in the years ahead.
The strategy was published in January 2020, and was the result of extensive consultation by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with other departments, the state agencies, civil society, business and academia. The strategic direction contained within it is informed by those consultations, and by the experience of Team Ireland on-the-ground.
Through the strategy, we aim to be recognised as a respected, informed and engaged partner; to significantly develop our trade and investment links; to be more engaged in people-to-people exchanges; to be more visible; and to ultimately yield more value from our engagement with the region across the whole span of government.
The Asia-Europe Meeting
The Asia-Europe Meeting, known as ASEM, is an intergovernmental process established in 1996 that fosters dialogue between Asia and Europe. It was established in 1996 and is comprised of 53 partners: 30 European and 21 Asian nations, the European Union and the ASEAN Secretariat.
ASEM utilises an informal process of dialogue and cooperation to address political, economic, financial, social, cultural and educational issues of common interest in a spirit of mutual respect and equal partnership.
The ASEM summit, which is held on a biennial basis sees a meeting between the ASEM Heads of State and Government, the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission and the Secretary-General of ASEAN.
At the most recent ASEM Foreign Ministers Meeting in Madrid in 2019, then-Tánaiste Simon Coveney T.D. engaged with peers from across Asia and Europe, holding meetings with counterparts from Kazakhstan, Thailand, Mongolia, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Japan and Bangladesh. These meetings were an important opportunity to discuss areas of mutual interest and promote Ireland’s candidacy for the UN Security Council.
For more information on ASEM visit ASEM Infoboard, which contains information on ASEM’s working practices and the pillars underpinning its work.
The Asia-Europe Foundation
The Asia-Europe Foundation, often referred to as ASEF, was created by the members of ASEM to strengthen Asia-Europe ties, create shared experiences for learning and dialogue, enhance mutual understanding between Europe and Asia, and explore opportunities for cooperation between Asia and Europe.
Since ASEF’s founding in 1997, it has brought together over 20,000 people from Asia and Europe and overseen more than 700 projects focused on culture, economy, education, governance, public health and sustainable development.
ASEF runs more than 25 projects a year, consisting of around 100 activities, mainly conferences, seminars, workshops, lectures, publications, and online platforms, together partner organisations.
Each year over 3,000 Asians and Europeans participate in ASEF's activities, and much wider audiences are reached through its various events, networks and web-portals.