91Â鶹¹ú²ú¾«Æ·×ÔÅÄ

The 13th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit was held from 25-26 November focusing on multilateralism, growth, sustainable development and prosperity. The Final Statement included a commitment to enhance multilateralism for social and cultural links, stressing the need to strengthen cooperation on sustainable tourism and the creative economy for people-to-people connectivity, economic cooperation, and quality-job creation. Leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to freedom of religion or belief, advancing interfaith and intercultural dialogues, and the respect for cultural diversity as important components of Asia-Europe partnership and cooperation. In this regard, they expressed their determination to eliminate all forms of intolerance and discrimination, including racism, xenophobia and religious intolerance, among others. The ASEM Cultural Festival was also held as an official side event to showcase the richness of artistic creativity and diversity in Asia and Europe.
ASEM is an intergovernmental process established in 1996 to foster dialogue and cooperation between Asia and Europe, addressing political, economic, financial, social, cultural, and educational issues of common interest in a spirit of mutual respect and equal partnership. It comprises 53 partners: 30 European and 21 Asian countries, the European Union and the ASEAN Secretariat.