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Europe-Asia Ties Should be Further Strengthened: Solana
Europe and Asia should seek to develop further ties in the current changing world, High Representative for the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana said in Singapore Wednesday.
Both the EU and Asia are in a process of profound change against a backdrop of rapidly developing world, said the former NATO chief while delivering the 4th Asia-Europe Lecture entitled "Future Relations Between the European Union and Asia."
Integration is becoming an important factor in enabling different regions to pursue the shared interests of groups of nations in an increasingly global world, he said.
Meanwhile, individual nations are looking more than ever to identify themselves with their local culture, language and tradition, he added.
"Such developments do not mean that regions can retreat into their shells," he said.
"On the contrary, they are even more reason to develop and strengthen the dialogue and cooperation between them," he stressed.
He indicated that the EU and Asia should cooperate with each other in order to address common transnational issues such as drug trafficking, organized crime, money laundering and terrorism.
Much of Asia like the EU, he said, is a melting pot of peoples of many backgrounds and cultures. Therefore, "we have to promote together the values of tolerance which are essential if such societies are to operate successfully, " he said.
The bilateral contacts between the EU and individual countries in Asia are becoming increasingly important, he said.
He said strong regional frameworks such as the ASEAN (the Association of South East Asian Nations) are gaining ground as the natural interlocutors for a more comprehensive and global dialogue.
Solana arrived in Singapore this morning for a one-day official visit at the invitation of Singapore Foreign Minister S. Jayakumar.
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