European Commission

Regional cooperation - Asia

• Support to regional integration
  • Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM)
  • South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
  • Association of South-East Asian Nations
• Food security
• Higher education
• Environment
• Human and animal health
• Trade and Business
• Refugees and uprooted people

Supporting regional integration

The principal forums for joint working and dialogue are: the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Asian Regional Forum (ARF), and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Moreover, nine “sub-regional” cooperation programmes receive support through the EU’s multi-annual indicative programme for 2007-2010.

ASEM programmes

• The ASEM Dialogue Facility – support to ASEM process and multilateral cooperation with ASEM countries on economic and financial matters, employment and social policy, environment and cultural diversity.
• The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) – cooperation to strengthen links and exchanges between civil societies in Asia and Europe.
• The Trans-Eurasia Information Network III (TEIN-III) – high capacity Internet network for researchers and universities in Asia.

EU-SAARC programmes

• The South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) – cooperation on harmonisation of standards, customs, licensing and registration, communications, transport, etc.
• Sectoral Dialogue Facility – cooperation EU experience and promoting institutional networking particularly on issues such as regional integration, energy, transport, disaster and disease risk reduction.
• South Asia Civil Aviation Programme – cooperation to fully implement the safety procedures and to help adapt national aviation systems so they can work in a regional system.

EU-ASEAN programmes

• Regional capacity building and region-to-region dialogue – identification of areas for regulatory or policy cooperation and, for example, help improve sector specific capacities and civil society exchanges.
• ASEAN statistical capacity building – cooperation to produce more accurate and reliable statistics for the formulation and evaluation of regional integration policies.
• ASEAN immigration and border management programme – cooperation to fight against trafficking and improve border management.