EU welcomes partners from Africa, Asia and the Pacific in Brussels to expand cooperation
European Union, 2023On 1 and 2 February, the EU will welcome representatives from countries and regional organisations across Africa, Asia, and the Pacific in Brussels.
On 1 February, high-level representatives from the EU and the Pacific Islands will engage in discussions on challenges and future prospects of EU-Pacific cooperation at the first Pacific Day that will take place at the European Parliament. Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra will deliver a keynote speech on the bilateral cooperation in the region for higher climate ambition and Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen will deliver concluding remarks.
On 2 February, High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell will chair the 3rd EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum in Brussels. The meeting will gather ministers of foreign affairs from the EU and the Indo-Pacific, as well as representatives from regional organisations, to discuss how to address the increasing number of complex economic, environmental, geopolitical, and security challenges that affect both regions.
Executive Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič, High Representative/Vice-President Borrell and Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni will co-moderate sessions with regional counterparts on the green transition, geopolitical and security challenges, and shared prosperity, economic resilience and investments, respectively. Commissioner Urpilainen will host a welcome dinner on 1 February and will speak at the plenary closing session on behalf of the European Commission.
High Representative/Vice-President Borrell will deliver opening and closing remarks. He will hold a press conference at the end of the Forum ca. 14:00 CET. You can follow them live on EbS.
In the afternoon, High Representative/Vice-President Borrell and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, Enrique Manalo, will co-chair the 24th EU-ASEAN Ministerial. Following the EU-ASEAN Leaders’ Commemorative Summit in December 2022, foreign ministers from the EU and ASEAN will review the implementation of Leaders’ decisions and agree the next steps to strengthen the Strategic Partnership between the EU and ASEAN. You can follow the opening remarks live on EbS. Commissioner Urpilainen will attend the meeting and intervene on behalf of the European Commission.
