Dear members and friends,

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU) are two of the world’s most integrated and established regional blocs. On 14 December 2022, a commemorative summit was held in Brussels to mark 45 years of diplomatic relations between the two blocs. Both organisations share a steadfast belief in the principles of a rules-based international order, multilateralism and open and fair trade.

Back in December 2020, EU-ASEAN relations were elevated to the status of a strategic partnership, as both blocs recognized the importance of deepening ties and engagement with each other. To this end, a four-year Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-EU Strategic Partnership (2023 – 2027) was adopted during the ASEAN + 1 Post-Ministerial Conference with the EU in Aug 2022.

While it is good to have this high level diplomatic exchanges, EU-ASEAN relations is so much more than that. Trade and investments between the two regional blocs are growing. Hence, legislative influence on defence and security matters, environmental sustainability, education, public health etc can increasingly be tangibly felt and seen in our societies.

This was one of the reasons why ASEANcham-EU was created, not only to bring the business communities in Southeast Asia and Europe closer together, but also to help create awareness of our interdependence and the impact of our policies on each other.

Today, against the backdrop of the ever-changing and volatile global political landscape, ASEANcham EU commits itself to making this strategic partnership work. We do this by intensifying political dialogue and exchanges, fostering a conducive networking environment and creating learning and information sharing opportunities for our members.

In this framework, we are pleased to launch our newsletter in order to keep you up to date with the news and upcoming events.

ASEANcham EU is confident about the direction we are headed for. We are here to serve the ASEAN business community  in the EU and be the platform to bridge the two regions in the economic and political fields. We will continue to evolve to earn the trust and support of our  stakeholders, current and in the future, in order to play an effective and proactive role in reinforcing the already strong partnership between ASEAN and the EU.

If you are interested in helping to develop and grow our organisation with your time, sponsoring or becoming a member, please reach out.

Sincerely yours,

Dimitri DUONG