The launching of the book and convening of the scholarships day was aimed at reaffirming the strong partnership between ASEAN and the EU
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Deputy Secretary General of ASEAN for Socio-Cultural Community, Kung Phoak, together with the Charge d'Affaires ad interim of the Mission of the European Union (EU) to ASEAN, Lucas Cibor, launched the EU-ASEAN Blue Book 2019. The launch of the book, the EU's annual publication on cooperation with ASEAN, was held in conjunction with the Second ASEAN-EU Cooperation and Scholarships Day at ASEAN Secretariat building in Jakarta Thursday.

The event was dedicated to communicating the impact of EU-ASEAN development cooperation, and the benefits of intra-ASEAN and EU-ASEAN student mobility.

"In January 2019, the 22nd EU-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting agreed in principle to upgrade EU-ASEAN relations to a strategic partnership, subject to details and timing to be worked out," Cibor said.

This agreement reflects the depth and breadth of EU-ASEAN relations which has lasted more than four decades, Cibor argued.

"The hallmark of this partnership is ever-closer cooperation on joint interests and common challenges, such as achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, tackling climate change or advancing our trade and connectivity. I am confident that our relations will continue to grow in the years to come," he stated.

The launching of the book and convening of the scholarships day was aimed at reaffirming the strong partnership between ASEAN and the EU, Kung Phoak stated.

"Both of these events encapsulate the strength of our partnership as well as the depth of our shared success. Undoubtedly, this success is a strong manifestation of what can be accomplished when the two most advanced examples of regional integration in the world work together on development and in particular, in higher education," Kung Phoak remarked.

The EU has dedicated over €200 million to support the ASEAN regional integration for the 2014-2020 period. Bilateral development cooperation with individual ASEAN member states includes more than €2 billion altogether, more than half of which is used to support Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

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Reporter: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Editor: Suharto
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