BRUSSELS, Oct. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- The Fifth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM 5) Summit to be held in Hanoi, capital of Vietnam, on October8-9 will have distinctive features, which are expected to further revitalize and substantiate the overall partnership between the two continents.

    Leaders of the 38 members states of the ASEM and the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union (EU), will participate in ASEM 5.

    ASEM 5 will mark its greatest enlargement since its foundation in 1996. It is to admit the three remaining ASEAN countries (Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar) and the 10 new EU member countries (Hungary, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta).

    Under international developments and new global challenges, theleaders will discuss how ASEM can contribute to a multilateral approach to international relation, in particular at the UN.

    The summit will also be an opportunity to reaffirm ASEM partners' commitments to work together to tackle major international security threats such as terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

    It will also offer a unique dialogue platform addressing major international issues of common interest, such as the situation on the Korean Peninsula, in Iraq, in the Middle East or in Afghanistan.

    ASEM, an informal dialogue between Asia and Europe with an objective of strengthening the relationship between the two regions, has achieved considerable progress since its founding in 1996, maturing itself gradually.

    In the past eight years, it has undertaken more than 250 activities and proposed various initiatives in the areas of political dialogue, economic-financial cooperation and cultural exchanges.

    The political dialogue carried out in the past years between the two continents have deepened their mutual understanding on international and regional issues, from Middle East situation, international terrorism to development, social and rule of law issues.

    On the economic-financial cooperation, the ASEM members have been working for a closer economic partnership to push their economic growth. A task force was formed in 2003 to study and make recommendations to the ASEM-5 summit on concrete measures to strengthen trade, financial and investment cooperation between thetwo regions.

    Trade relations and two-way investment flows have been promoted through the ASEM mechanism "Trade Facilitation Action Plan" and "Investment Promotion Action Plan." Cooperation has started in the field of customs and combating money laundering while a trust fund was launched in the World Bank to assist the member countries to overcome financial-monetary crisis.

    Some 2.4 billion people live in ASEM state members, representing 37 percent of the world population. Their combined gross domestic product (GDP) in 2002 stood at more than 14.8 trillion US dollars, or 46 percent of the world GDP. Their total value of trade in goods was over 2.7 trillion dollars or 43 percent of the world trade.

    Taking place every two years, alternatively in Asia and Europe,ASEM summits are the most important feature of the process, by giving the main political impetus.

    The forthcoming meeting is expected to adopt a chairman's statement, the Hanoi Declaration on Closer ASEM Economic Partnership and the ASEM Declaration on Dialogue among Cultures and Civilizations.

    ASEM 5 will set the pace and guidelines for the next two years of the ASEM process in the context of enlargement, and in that respect it will play a critical role for the future of the process,observers said. Enditem