Closing remarks by High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell at the 14th ASEM Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
Madrid, Spain. 16 December 2019
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We have arrived at the close of the 14th ASEM Foreign Affairs Ministers’ Meeting. It has been intense, I hope fruitful and constructive.
We have been together for 24 hours, I am convinced that this organisation is more than ever before representing a unique platform for European and Asian partners to dialogue and engage on common challenges. I am not going to repeat how important we are in the world landscape, from economic, political and trade point of view.
We have to work together, Asia and Europe for an effective multilateralism, it was much more evident at the end than at the beginning. I had the opportunity of knowing you better and during the retreat session we discussed in a more lively way. I think we have to continue on this way if we want to take advantage of our meeting. Going further than what the protocol and diplomatic usage give us the opportunity.
We talked about connectivity, which is going to be one of the words of the 21st century. Connectivity will be a key player of the world that is going to come. I have absolutely clear understanding that for connectivity to benefit the people it needs to be sustainable and rules based.
I just wanted to say how happy I have been of sharing with all of you this meeting and I hope that the next one will still be more fruitful, more positive. In the mean time we have to keep in contact, we have to be in touch and share information, worries, wishes, in order to arrive at the next meeting which will be organised by Cambodia in 2020. I hope all of you will be there and if not your successors will take the place . But I hope to see all the countries represented one way or another.
I do not want to be longer, time is pressing, many of you have planes to take. It is my great pleasure to give the floor now to His Excellency, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sokhon Prak Hun Sen of Cambodia, who will host the next meeting in 2020.
Link to the video: https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-182392