The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU) are celebrating the 45th anniversary of the establishment of their Dialogue Partnership. Therefore, ASEAN and EU leaders meet in Brussels on 14 December for a historic, first-ever bi-regional summit. Malaysia, one of the five founding members of ASEAN, has always played a fundamental part in this partnership.

The Commemorative Summit takes place in unprecedented times, in which war and geopolitical insecurity slow down post-pandemic recovery, putting the world in a food and energy crisis and at risk of global recession, along with climate change continuing to pose a significant threat to our planet and humankind. In a globalised world, a threat in a region means a threat everywhere in the world – as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has clearly evidenced.

In the face of these disruptions and strategic anxieties, there is greater need for ASEAN and EU to forge stronger bonds and further ASEAN-EU strategic conversation. Heads of State and Government from the Member States of ASEAN and EU will thus gather at Brussels to celebrate our achievements and reflect on what we can do together to address these challenges and important issues.

It gives me great pleasure that on behalf of Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Senator Dato’ Seri Diraja Dr. Zambry Abd Kadir participates in the Summit. I have great expectations that this will not only give an opportunity to spur ASEAN-EU relations, but also serve as a springboard for deeper, more concrete EU-Malaysia relations.

At the sidelines of the summit, Senator Dato’ Seri Diraja Dr. Zambry Abd Kadir and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, will sign the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Malaysia and the EU. While this is a highly welcome milestone consolidating our bilateral relations, I’m confident that it will be a stepping stone for more concrete cooperation in our mutual interest.

Last week, together with the Asia-Europe Institute of the University of Malaya, we co-organised a two-day ASEAN-EU international symposium in Kuala Lumpur. With the title of ‘EU-ASEAN at 45: From Dialogue Partnership to Strategic Partnership’, the symposium brought together academics, diplomats, and experts to put forward recommendations for promoting ASEAN-EU relations. One of the key takeaways is that in times of geopolitical upheaval, business as usual following blueprints is not enough. We need out-of-the-box thinking to deliberate how to transcend the bi-regional partnership and make it more relevant for our joint efforts to globally promote a rules-based international order.

Bilateral dialogue relations between ASEAN and the EU began in 1977. Both regional blocs have since interacted with each other on economic, trade, political, and cultural issues. Our partnership and cooperation is based on our shared belief in a rule-based, inclusive international order and sustainable multilateralism. In 2020, ASEAN and the EU opened a new chapter in their long-standing relationship by upgrading their ties to a strategic partnership. Despite being two very different regional blocs historically and culturally, for ASEAN and the EU to form such partnership and friendship is a result of decades of hard work, mutual understanding, and a common ambition of peace and security along with economic cooperation.

In recent years, the EU has adopted very significant new instruments. The EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, the Global Gateway and the Strategic Compass show that the EU is willing not only to adapt to new geopolitical realities, but to do it in the spirit of inclusiveness and cooperation. I invite the new Malaysian Government to jointly discuss how these instruments can become fruitful to bring EU-Malaysian relations to a new level.

H.E. Michalis Rokas is the Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Malaysia