Summit Opens the Way for Closer Europe-Asia Ties
International Herald Tribune
March 4, 1996
Michael Richardson 

Europe's ties with the fastest growing economic region of the world seem set to deepen following an inaugural summit meeting of both sides.

Leaders of the 15 European Union nations and 10 East Asian countries agreed to launch an Asia-Europe Partnership for Greater Growth to cover expanded trade, investment, technology, scientific, educational and cultural exchanges.

While not establishing any new organization to enact this ambitious agenda or setting firm targets for economic liberalization, the two-day Asia-Europe conference, which ended Saturday, had the necessary high-level political backing to ensure that follow-up meetings of officials and the private sector would achieve solid results, officials said.

The leaders decided to reconvene in 1998 in Britain and in 2000 in South Korea, with foreign, economic and possibly finance ministers meeting in the interim, as well as gatherings of businessmen, officials and experts.

Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad of Malaysia, who has been one of the West's sharpest Asian critics, said the conference had "focused on very concrete items and had come up with ideas that are implementable and beneficial to both Europe and Asia."

Apart from agreement to work out ways of enlarging two-way trade, investment and technology transfer, the leaders decided to back a Malaysian-coordinated study to build an integrated Asian railroad network that eventually would link up with Europe's rail system.

They also decided to form an Asia-Europe Business Forum that will meet for the first time later this year in France; an Asia-Europe Foundation in Singapore to promote exchanges between think-tanks, peoples and cultural groups, and an Asia-Europe University Program to develop better understanding of the cultures, histories and business practices of both regions.

Mr. Mahathir said that much of the emphasis should be on educating Europeans about the progress made in Asian countries, many of them former colonies of Europe.

He added that because so many Asians studied in Western universities, "Asia tends to know more about Europe and America than Europe and America know about Asia."

Chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany said that growing mutual interest and synergy were helping to draw the two regions closer together after a period of estrangement. "We consider ourselves to be regions that can mutually enrich each other," he said.

The EU, seeking to spur sluggish economic growth and reduce high unemployment at home, wants to export more of its goods and services to Asia and attract more Asian investment to Europe.

Asia needs guaranteed access to the giant EU market for its exports and seeks more European investment and technology to offset dependence on Japan and the United States.

Some Asian officials are concerned that the EU will remain preoccupied with other programs to enlarge its influence in Europe and elsewhere, weakening the new focus on Asia.

Although mutual recriminations over protectionism and the reluctance of some Asian countries to back an EU proposal for a uniform global code allowing foreign investors to operate on an equal footing with locals could prolong problems, analysts said that both sides had strong incentives to improve mutual access to their markets.

Britain has been a leading advocate of stronger engagement with Asia, along with Germany and France.

President Jacques Chirac, for example, wants to triple France's market share in Asia in 10 years, and Germany has similar ambitions.

EU trade with Asia was worth more than $312 billion in 1994

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