Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM): A partnership for the 21st Century

Herman Van Rompuy is a Belgian and European politician. He began his career in Belgian national politics, becoming Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Budget and was later elected to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, finally serving as Prime Minister of Belgium. Praised as a consensus-builder, Van Rompuy was chosen unanimously to become the first full-time President of the European Council.

O’Sullivan, as part of the European External Action Service (EEAS), has contributed to enhance a stronger partnership between Europe and Asia and has promoted it through a high number of official visits to the Asiatic region. He was European Commission Director General for Trade and before that, Secretary General of the European Commission, Head of Cabinet of Commission President Romano Prodi and Director General for Education and Training. He also has extensive experience on EU social and employment policy.

Bart Gaens is an experienced academic whose research has focussed on major power relations in East Asia, EU-Asia relations, and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). He previously led a research project on the EU’s relations with Asia at the University of Helsinki Network for European Studies and worked as an advisor in the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs during preparations for the ASEM6 Summit. He has published extensively on Europe-Asia interregional relations, with special focus on the ASEM process.

Perugini is the current representative of Italy in the Asia-Europe Senior Officials’ Meeting. Prior to his current position, Perugini was Ambassador of Italy to Vietnam. He also represented Italy at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), worked at the Italian Embassies in China and Angola, as well as at the Permanent Delegation to the Conference on Disarmament of the United Nations.

Throughout his career, Wong has held several positions at the Singapore Foreign Service at headquarters and abroad. He has worked at the Singapore Embassies in Seoul and Beijing. As Ambassador to Vietnam, Wong received the Friendship Order for his active contribution in fostering cooperation between the two countries. He is currently the representative of Singapore in the Asia-Europe Senior Officials’ Meeting.

Throughout his career, Wong has held several positions at the Singapore Foreign Service at headquarters and abroad. He has worked at the Singapore Embassies in Seoul and Beijing. As Ambassador to Vietnam, Wong received the Friendship Order for his active contribution in fostering cooperation between the two countries. He is currently the representative of Singapore in the Asia-Europe Senior Officials’ Meeting.

An international relations expert, Yeo Lay Hwee’s research interests revolve around comparative regionalism, multilateralism and governance networks. She has written extensively on issues pertaining to Asia-Europe relations in general, and specifically on the ASEM process and EU-ASEAN relations. In addition to leading the European Union Centre, she is also Council Secretary at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, Adjunct Fellow at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, and Adjunct Faculty at the Singapore Management University. Yeo is also a member of the Scientific Committee of a multi-year research project on ‘Trends in Global Governance and Europe’s Role’.

De Gucht’s career has spanned widely across European and Belgian politics. During his mandate as Commissioner, De Gucht has travelled across Asia in an attempt to boost trade ties with the region. He has previously served as EU Commissioner for Development & Humanitarian Aid, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs, as well as Minister for International Trade.

Durano is an academic and a feminist activist who has spent more than 15 years engaged in strengthening women’s political involvement. Durano has worked for several organisations including Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) and the International Gender and Trade Network.

Kell is the Senior Official of New Zealand for the Asia-Europe meeting. Previous to his current position, Kell worked at the Embassy of New Zealand in Tokyo, at the New Zealand High Comission in London, at the New Zealand High Comission in the Solomon Islands, and at the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs holding several positions. Kell is the Senior Official of New Zealand for the Asia-Europe meeting.

Posky holds an extensive career in the private and in the public sector as strategic communication expert. Mithra Pharmaceuticals, the Directorate General for Health and Consumers of the European Commission and the Federal Government of Belgium, are among his experience. In 2011, he founded Epoksy, a company specialised in brands communication.

Schaefer has been the German Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China. His earlier career achievements comprise positions at the German Embassy in Singapore, the German Permanent Mission to the office of the United Nations in Geneva and at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin, for which he was the Political Director.

Siphana is currently the Cambodian Senior Representative for the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). Prior to this, he served as Secretary of State at the Ministry of Commerce in Cambodia and held the position of Director at the International Trade Center (ITC) in Geneva. He also works as Chairman of the Board of Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI), a research institute, and as a Managing Partner of a law and consulting firm.

Wadhwa is the representative of India for the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and was in charge of the organisation of the last ASEM meeting held in India. His previous diplomatic assignments include the Commission of India in Hong Kong, the Embassy of India in Beijing, the United Nations in Geneva, the Embassy of India in Beijing and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague.

Aung is a business entrepreneur who recently launched Oway, the first online travel agency in Myanmar. Prior to that, Aung was involved in a start-up that was eventually bought by Yahoo, and he spent nearly four years working at Google. Aung studied at the University of Arizona, the London School of Economics and the Stanford University.

Liepina began her career as a Legal Adviser for the Latvian Investment and Development Agency. She worked as an independent legal and business environment consultant and for the World Bank at the Investment Climate Department. Furthermore, Leipina has held positions at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) first for Russia, Georgia and Latvia and then for Vietnam.

Roccas is the representative for Belgium in the Asia-Europe Senior Officials’ Meeting. She is an experienced diplomat who has held a variety of senior positions abroad including at the Embassies of Belgium in Spain and Croatia and at the Federal Public Service of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of Belgium in Russia.

Zhang is a veteran diplomat with a broad experience in countries such as Switzerland, the United States, Singapore, Austria and India. He is currently the Executive Director of the ASEF, an organisation that promotes greater mutual understanding between Asia and Europe through intellectual, cultural and people-to-people exchanges. He held the position of Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Republic of India.