Participation of the State Institute for Culture in the Meeting of the Board of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF)
In the first week of July 2023, a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) was held in Barcelona. As a rule, such meetings of the governing body are held once a year and bring together the representatives of 50 countries from the two regions - 30 European and 20 Asian countries, plus a representative of the European Union and the Secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The ASEF Board of Directors aimed to review and approve the ongoing projects and programs of the Asia-Europe Foundation.
This meeting was one of the first key events to take place under the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The main result of the discussion was the adoption of the ASEF 3-year Strategic Plan. With this strategic plan, ASEF will respond to the new demands of the evolving dynamics of relations between Asia and Europe and continue its mandate to promote people-to-people exchanges in the two regions. The discussions outlined opportunities for placing ASEF at the intersection of efforts to strengthen cooperation between the two regions to address global challenges. The main projects implemented by the Foundation in the fields of education, culture, management, economy, sustainable development, public health and media were also presented.
The meeting was organized by Casa Asia, a cultural center based in Barcelona, and chaired by Javier Parondo, the Spanish Governor in ASEF and rotating Chairman of the Board for 2023. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Development Policies of Spain, Barcelona City Council, European Union.
Asia-Europe Foundation
ASEF is the only permanent institution of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) process and was established in February 1997 by the governments and organizations participating in ASEM, the main multilateral forum established a year earlier to facilitate political, economic and cultural cooperation between Asia and Europe and jointly address major global challenges. ASEM has 52 partners: 50 member states, of which 30 are European and 20 Asian, to which the EU and the ASEAN Secretariat should be added.
ASEF is an intergovernmental non-profit organization based in Singapore whose main mission is to promote understanding, relations and cooperation between people, institutions and organizations in Asia and Europe, through the implementation of projects and programs related to culture, education, governance, economy , sustainable development, public health and media.