TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The European Union (EU) will be stepping up its relationship with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Olof Skoog, the EU Ambassador for Indonesia, Brunei and ASEAN said that the European nations association could bring forth the experience on how countries can integrate and build economic growth together. “I think what ASEAN is looking for in the EU is to learn from that experience, not to make the mistakes that we’ve done, but also to be inspired by the successful things we have accomplished,” he said during a media briefing on Thursday, October 9.
According to Skoog, there are challenges that need to be addressed before the ASEAN Economic Community 2015 starts, including huge difference in the development level among its member states. “On the one side, you have Singapore, very advance economy with high GDP, very sophisticated in many ways. On the other, you have a country like Laos, which is very far down on the development scale,” he said.
Therefore, the EU is working on bringing the less developed countries such as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to a higher development level so that they can compete with other member states. “We are going to have a massive amount of cooperation. We are talking about € 3 billion dedicated to these countries for the next few years,” added Skoog.
To further show their commitment, the EU will also have a dedicated ambassador for ASEAN. Skoog said that the union was looking at a more strategic, more political and more ambitious relations with ASEAN. “This includes strategic partnership and regular summits,” he explained. The leaders from both the EU and ASEAN will hold a meeting during the Asia-Europe Summit (ASEM) in Milan on October 16-17 to further discuss their enhanced relationship.
AMANDA SIDDHARTA
