President Halonen to attend the ASEM Summit in Beijing

Office of the President of the Republic Press Release 17 October 2008

President of the Republic Tarja Halonen will attend the Seventh Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM7) in Beijing, China on 24-25 October 2008. President Halonen will head the Finnish delegation, with Minister of Migration and European Affairs Astrid Thors serving as vice chair.

President Halonen will speak at the opening session of the summit as the representative of the previous host country. She will also give Finland's statement at a working session on sustainable development. President Halonen will hold bilateral meetings with the Presidents of China, the Philippines and Vietnam during the summit.

ASEM7 will address global themes such as strengthening multilateralism, the Millennium Development Goals, climate change and energy, dialogue between cultures and religions, strengthening trade and investments between Asia and Europe, and timely regional issues. The global economic situation and how to manage the international financial crisis will also be on the agenda. Finland's focuses in ASEM cooperation are climate issues, social development and human rights.

ASEM is a cooperation forum for countries in Europe and Asia, bringing together heads of state and government every other year to discuss timely matters. The previous summit, ASEM6, was held in Finland in autumn 2006. ASEM currently includes 43 member countries plus the European Commission and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

ASEM Summit