About ASEM

The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is an inter-governmental forum between Asia and Europe. In March 1996, the First ASEM Summit was held in Bangkok, Thailand, marking the official birth of ASEM.

ASEM Summit gathers the head of states and governments of the 27 European countries and the European Commission, with their counterparts from 16 Asian countries and the ASEAN Secretariat. The dialogue addresses issues concerning the three main pillars of ASEM and serves as the highest level of decision making in the ASEM process.

It is held every second year in Asia and Europe alternatively starting in 1996 when Bangkok held the first ASEM Summit (ASEM 1). London then took the honour in 1998 to host ASEM 2. The Summit was brought back to Asia in 2000, in which Korea made Seoul as the venue for ASEM 3. The baton was then passed on to Denmark to organise ASEM 4 in 2002.

The commemorative ASEM 5 took place on 8 & 9 October 2004 in Hanoi where ASEM saw its first round of enlargement. On 10 & 11 October 2006 in Helsinki, Finland hosted ASEM 6 which marked the tenth year of this informal dialogue process as well as further expansion.

The Seventh Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM 7) will be held in Beijing 24-25 October 2008. The summit will be the first gathering of leaders of 45 ASEM partners since its second round of enlargement in 2006.