SINGAPORE, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The Asia- Europe Meeting (ASEM), which was firstly held in 1996, has become an important platform for interaction between Asia and Europe at a range of different levels of engagement, said Alvin Lim, a research fellow with International Public Policy Pte. Ltd.(IPP) in Singapore.
Mongolia will host the 11th ASEM summit from July 15 to 16 in the capital Ulan Bator, during which representatives of ASEM member countries will also celebrate ASEM's 20th anniversary.
"The informality of ASEM meetings allows the member-states to have greater freedom to discuss issues of common concern. ASEM meetings are also flexible enough to provide a platform for its diverse member-states to meet under the condition of equality," Lim said in a recent interview with Xinhua.
He added that such characteristics allow ASEM to achieve rapid and open communications.
Since the first meeting, the global situation and challenges countries face have also changed dramatically. This also requests member states of ASEM to work together on global issues such as terrorism, climate change and regional conflicts.
During this year's summit, member states of ASEM will review the cooperation within the framework over the last 20 years and seek new potentials for ASEM cooperation in the next decade.
"The global war on terror is definitely a key concern, and the participation in ASEM of countries impacted by terrorism ... could make ASEM an important venue for these countries to discuss strategies to jointly combat the terrorist groups operating in their territories," Lim emphasized.
"They should continue to use informal communications channels like ASEM, and perhaps develop other informal communications channels, to allow maximum opportunities for their governments to work with one another to smooth out disputes before they escalate to dangerous levels. This is especially important with climatic changes increasing the risks of resource conflicts, terrorism, and refugee flows," he added.
