Senior Officials from ASEM partners hold regular meetings for coordination work on ASEM activities.

The European Union (European External Action Service) hosted and chaired on 28-30 April 2014 in Palais d’Egmont in Brussels the Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), with all 51 ASEM partners (49 countries, the European Union and the ASEAN Secretariat) as well as Croatia as guest of the Chair represented, in order to prepare for the 10th ASEM Summit of Heads of States and Government to take place on 16-17 October 2014 in Milan. The Summit will be chaired by the President of the European Council, in cooperation with the President of the European Commission, and hosted by the Government of Italy.

During the meeting, the Senior Officials looked back at outcomes and the implementation of the conclusions of the 9th ASEM Summit, held in Vientiane (Laos) in 2012, and the 11th Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, held in New Delhi (India) in 2013, and commenced the preparations for the upcoming Summit in Milan. They discussed the theme, the programme and the preliminary agenda of the Summit and its accompanying side events, and held an exchange of views on Asia-Europe relations and on a number of global and regional issues in order to help identify the issues to be discussed at the Summit.

The next preparatory SOM will take place on 9-10 July in Brussels.