2nd ASEAN-EU Dialogue on Sustainable Development: Towards Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

The 2nd ASEAN-EU Dialogue on Sustainable Development: Towards Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals opens today in Brussels. The aim is to promote ASEAN-EU cooperation on the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement. The dialogue underlines political support to the sustainable development dimension of ASEAN-EU cooperation. Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships, opened the dialogue this morning together with Don Pramudwinai, Foreign Minister of Thailand, co-chairing the dialogue on behalf of ASEAN. In her opening remarks, Commissioner Urpilainen said, “We already work well together on issues around sustainable consumption and production, biodiversity conservation, and the sustainable use of peatlands and haze migration. Now, with the European Green Deal, the EU is ready to take these efforts to a new level. Working with ASEAN and all our partners we are seeking a lasting, sustainable transformation of our societies and economies.” The dialogue brings together senior officials from the EU and ASEAN to focus on climate change, green growth and financing, regional integration in inclusive and sustainable development, and gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. Other participants include representatives from relevant sectoral European Parliament committee chairs, the OECD, UN agencies, from the ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue as well as European and ASEAN private sector representatives. A factsheet on EU-ASEAN relations is available online.