Vital for Europe and Asia to get the most out of this ASEM

ASK scientists whether Europe and Asia are one big continent or two: they will look at geography, geology, history. But just look at the daily news: Europe and Asia face the same global challenges, the same threats. Dialogue and cooperation among us are more crucial than ever. The intuition of a great forum for our continents - the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) - is even more meaningful today than it was 20 years ago, when ASEM kicked off.

We share an incandescent neighbourhood, the Middle East. We have the same interest in addressing the terrorist threat, and stem the flow of foreign fighters converging on the region from Europe and Asia alike. We are all facing a global rise in human mobility: our European public opinion often forgets about the massive movements of migrants and refugees in the other continents, including inside Asia. Some of the underlying causes of these fluxes are also issues of common concern: conflicts, economic imbalances, natural disasters linked to climate change.

Europe and Asia need one another. Asia is one of the fastest-growing regions on Earth. To keep the current pace, improved connections between our continents will be vital. And connectivity is a key word at ASEM. This is not only about connecting Asia and Europe by sea, air or railway, but also digitally and through people-to-people contacts - between businessmen, students, academics or simply tourists. An increase of trade and investments in both directions must be a priority for the whole of us. For this reason, the European Commission has decided to work fulltime on strengthening our existing trade agreements and building new ones.