They agreed to explore the potential collaboration in the four priority areas of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and the seven ones of the E.U. Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, all in accordance with the principles of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, the ASEAN Charter, and the AOIP.
They both acknowledged the launch of the Team Europe Initiative on Sustainable Connectivity and the operationalization of the Green Team Europe Initiative of the E.U., which aim to enhance ASEAN - E.U. cooperation and be complemented by concrete projects at both regional and national levels across Southeast Asia, and welcomed the E.U.’s expected contribution of around EUR 10 billion (USD 10.54 billion) to the implementation of Global Gateway in the ASEAN region.
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Delegates at Joint Press Release 30th ASEAN - EU Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) Meeting Convenes in Jakarta on February 24 |
The two sides reaffirmed the importance of and their commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Paris Agreement, and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and related Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, with a view to promoting sustainable development and addressing the global challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental protection.
In the spirit of mutual cooperation, they both welcomed the convening of the 2nd Joint Working Group (JWG) on Palm Oil between relevant ASEAN member states and the E.U. as per the agreed Terms of Reference and the relevant parties’ continued constructive discussion pertaining to sustainable vegetable oil production in the said JWG.
Besides, ASEAN and the E.U. welcomed the continued wide-ranging, substantive policy dialogues between ASEAN and E.U. counterparts supported by the Enhanced Regional E.U. - ASEAN Dialogue Instrument (E-READI), which promotes dialogue and cooperation on a wide range of policy areas of shared interest.
They both reaffirmed their commitment to intensify engagement on ASEAN - E.U. trade and economic issues and to explore other avenues in the short and medium terms to promote cooperation in areas of mutual interest such as digital economy, green technologies and green services and supply chain resilience, while reaffirming a future ASEAN - E.U. FTA as a common long-term objective.
The meeting welcomed joint efforts to promote ASEAN - E.U. connectivity, including through the Global Gateway Team Europe Initiative on Sustainable Connectivity for ASEAN and agreed to enhance digital cooperation as reflected in the ASEAN - E.U. Joint Ministerial Statement on Connectivity and in line with the stated vision of the ASEAN Digital Master Plan 2025.
ASEAN and the E.U. welcomed the growing engagement between the two sides on a broad range of security and defense-related issues, including the E.U.’s active engagement as co-chair of the thematic work stream on counter-terrorism and transnational crime (CTTC) for the 2020-2022 period, extended until 2023, within the ASEAN Regional Forum.
Source: VNA