The fourth ASEAN-EU Business Summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on August 23, bringing together over 250 business leaders, policy makers and scholars from the two sides.

Speaking at the event, Chairman of the ASEAN-EU Business Council Francois Guibert said ASEAN is an attractive business and investment destination as gross domestic product (GDP) is forecasted to continue increasing above five percent in the next five years.

Chairman of the ASEAN-EU Business Council Francois Guibert addresses the event. Photo: Vietnam+

Besides, the official formation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) later this year shows the region’s efforts in striving to play an important role in the globe’s economy, he added.

Bilateral trade and investment as well as financial integration, trade barrier elimination issues among others were discussed at the event

The EU, the world’s biggest economy, is ASEAN’s largest foreign direct investment (FDI) source, with 21.3 percent of the grouping’s total 29.1 billion USD in FDI in 2014.

The EU is also ASEAN’s second leading trade partner, after China, with bilateral trade reaching 248.2 billion USD or 10 percent of the total ASEAN’s trade turnover.

Delegates at the event also proposed to resume the ASEAN-EU free trade agreement by the end of 2015.

The ASEAN-EU Business Summit is the most important annual event between ASEAN and the EU, aiming to intensify trade and investment relations between the two regions.

Source: VNA