Statement by President von der Leyen following the EU-ASEAN Commemorative Summit

Dear Prime Minister Hun Sen,

Dear President Marcos,

Dear Charles,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We had an excellent Summit today with our ASEAN partners. Quite a special Summit, too, indeed, Because it marks 45 years of relations between us, and it is a perfect occasion to open a new chapter in our partnership.

We are what you just said and called ‘strategic partners'. What stands behind this term is the reality of two regions that have so much in common despite being a world apart. We are the two most successful regional integration projects in the world. We share the same unyielding commitment to multilateralism, and the international rule of law. That means the same rules for all, whether big or small. And we both want to relegate the notion of spheres of influence to the past, where it belongs. The European Union pleads for closer cooperation between the EU and the ASEAN partners. Russia has unleashed its war of aggression against Ukraine. War has returned to the European continent. And it is clear that this is not solely a European problem, but the world is feeling the brutal shock waves of this war on food prices, on energy security.

And all this is a stark reminder that today, in this world of interdependencies, there is no such thing as a European problem, or an Asian problem either. All the challenges we face today are of global nature and therefore affect all of us. You, ASEAN, know what is at stake. We are therefore very grateful that you have signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation with Ukraine. We very much welcome that. The more acute global challenges are, the stronger our partnership must be. And today, we indeed discussed several strands of work to reinforce this partnership.

The first one is energy. We want to accelerate, together with our partners, the clean energy revolution. So today, for example, we launched a Just Energy Transition Partnership with Vietnam, similar to the one we have with Indonesia. And we have also decided to start an EU-ASEAN new Energy Dialogue. Because we all know that renewable energy is not only good for our climate but it is also home-grown and therefore creates independence and security of supply.

Second point is trade. A lot has been said on trade. We want to trade more with each other. We already are each other's third largest trading partners. Our free trade agreements with Vietnam and Singapore are delivering. That is impressive. So the European Union wants to conclude more such agreements with ASEAN countries. And our ultimate goal would be to negotiate a region-to-region free trade agreement.

And my third and last point is on infrastructure. Because our energy and trade cooperation will only reach its full potential if it is underpinned by the right infrastructure. Today, Team Europe put forward a EUR-10-billion investment package under Global Gateway.

Let me end, Prime Minister Hun Sen, by thanking you for your excellent Chairmanship this year. I am now looking forward to working with Indonesia under its Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2023. We have behind us over four decades of partnership, and we will continue championing peace, stability and prosperity together.

Thank you very much.