Khurshid calls for tangible cooperation between Asian, European nations(Update/ASEM Conference)

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Monday emphasised the need for result-oriented initiatives and promotion of tangible cooperation between the members of ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting), as they came together to enhance strategic partnerships for growth and development here.

Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari inaugurated the two-day Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), which is being held for the first time in Gurgaon.

Khurshid chaired the meeting the theme of which this year is 'ASEM- Bridge to partnership for growth and development.'

"Under the agenda of ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) (Foreign Ministers' Meeting or FMM 11), we are making excellent progress to emphasise result-oriented initiatives by agreeing to work with like-minded ASEM members in the areas with potential for tangible cooperation," said Khurshid.

The dialogue forum between representatives of Asian and European countries is expected to discuss a wide gamut of issues between Asia and Europe and reinvigorate the platform to achieve tangible results in various fields.

Khurshid also said that ASEM aims to promote growth and development regionally and globally.

"ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) not only brings together the two dynamic continents of Asia(and) Europe but also a collective capacity quite unparalleled in regional fora to promote growth and development regionally and globally," he added.

Currently there are 51 partners in ASEM where 49 of its members are Asian and European countries and two are International Organisations, namely the ASEAN Secretariat and the European Commission.

Ansari said that ASEM should create wider stakeholding amongst economic partners and civil society apart from merely being a forum for political dialogue.

"I believe we should look to optimise ASEM's potential with a sense of greater urgency. We should endeavour to take it beyond being a forum for political dialogue only, make it reach out to the people of member states and create wider stakeholding amongst economic partners and civil society," said Ansari.

On Saturday, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin had said that ASEM had traditionally focused on three dimensions, namely, political dialogue, economic collaboration, and socio-economic cooperation which would further pave the way for cooperation between the Asian and European countries.

The ASEM was established in 1996 to act as a forum for inter-continental dialogue. India joined the group in 2007. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh participated in its summit held in Beijing in 2008.

Currently, ASEM represents 60 percent of the world's population, 52 percent of global Gross Domestic Product and nearly 68 percent of international trade.