Asian, European FMs meet over climate, violence in Mideast

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Source: CCTV.com | 05-29-2007 08:48

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (2nd R) speaks beside European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner (R) German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana (2nd L) and Portuguese State Secretary at the Ministry for European Affairs Manuel Lobo Antunes (L) during a news conference following the European Union Troika-China meeting ahead of the 8th ASEM Foreign Ministers meeting in Hamburg May 28, 2007. REUTERS/Christian Charisius (GERMANY)

45 Foreign Ministers from Asian and European countries are gathering in the German city of Hamburg for a two-day meeting. High on their agenda are urgent global issues including climate change, energy, international trade, as well as Middle East peace.

Traditional European powers and emerging Asian economies are showing the world that together they can do more to address global issues.

The Asia-Europe Meeting or ASEM, is convening for the 8th time since it was founded in 1996. Within the last two years the membership of ASEM has expanded from 26 to 45. And its importance seems to be growing steadily.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German FM, said, "Together, we in the Asia-Europe meeting represent around 50 percent of the world's GDP (Gross Domestic Product), 58 percent of the global population and 60 percent of international trade. That is a level of influence that we can and should use to an even greater degree in international politics."

Six new ASEM members are participating in the meeting for the first time. They are India, Pakistan, Mongolia, Bulgaria, Romania and the ASEAN Secretariat. With the increase of its membership, ASEM's involvement in global issues is also growing.

Steinmeier said, "The ASEM subject spectrum has also shifted. Our topics now range from current foreign policy and security issues, such as the situation in the Middle East and in Afghanistan, through energy and climate change."

Climate change is one of the major focuses of the current meeting. At last year's meeting in Helsinki, European and Asian leaders promised to set new carbon reduction goals that go beyond those of the Kyoto Protocol. And in Hamburg, EU Foreign Ministers and their Asian counterparts have begun discussing replacing the Kyoto protocol with a new pact. Technical negotiations on the pact are expected to start in December in Indonesia.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi (R) arrive for a news conference following the European Union Troika-China meeting ahead of the 8th ASEM Foreign Ministers meeting in Hamburg May 28, 2007.REUTERS/Morris Mac Matzen (GERMANY)

Editor:Du Xiaodan