ABSTRACT
The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) held its first summit in 1996 in Thailand’s capital Bangkok. ASEM is an inter-regional process of cooperation and dialogue consisting of 48 members, namely the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the 27 European Union (EU) member states, Australia, China, India, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Russia and South Korea. In addition to these 46 countries, the European Commission and the ASEAN Secretariat also participate in their own right. The ASEM process, which has so far been loosely organised, addresses political and economic issues as well as security, education and culture.
