COMING TOGETHER: Participants at the fifth Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership  meeting in Beijing talk during a break on June 20

During the Fifth Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP) meeting in Beijing on June 18-20, parliamentarians from the two continents exchanged views and made decisions on regional and global issues that concerned all the participants.

This ASEP meeting made progress on strengthening the countries' cooperation. The parliamentarians issued a declaration, adopted five new members-Romania, Bulgaria, India, Pakistan and Mongolia, and decided to advance the World Trade Organization's Doha Round. They agreed to focus on the issues of energy safety, counterterrorism and dialogue between different cultures and civilizations. They also confirmed that Belgium would host the sixth ASEP conference in 2010.

Declarations and decisions

The Fifth ASEP was the second round of enlargement of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), an informal dialogue process started in 1996. It was the first meeting held after ASEM absorbed five new members. The ASEP declaration passed on June 20 said its members believe that the participation of the five countries would make ASEP "more representative and dynamic."

"To strengthen Asia-Europe cooperation and promote common development is an issue of mutual interest to people of all countries in Asia and Europe," the declaration said. It stressed that both continents had called for more dialogue and cooperation to boost peace, development and global cooperation.

Pengiran Mohd Yusuf Pengriran Haji Abdul Rahim, a member of Brunei's state legislative council, told Beijing Review that even though his country is not large, it could benefit from ASEP communication and cooperation.