The Beginning

In March 1996, the leaders of twenty-five European and East Asian countries, together with the European Commission, convened in Bangkok, Thailand, for the inaugural Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). This historic summit paved the way for the establishment of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) one year later in 1997. ASEF is the only physical institution of ASEM and is funded by voluntary contributions from its partner governments and shares the financing of its projects with its civil society partners across Asia and Europe.

The agreement by the ASEM leaders to found ASEF can be found in the Dublin Principles

The Mission

The Asia-Europe Foundation promotes greater mutual understanding between Asia and Europe through intellectual, cultural and people-to-people exchanges. Through ASEF, civil society concerns are included as a vital component of deliberations of the ASEM.  ASEF was established in February 1997 by the participating governments of ASEM and has since implemented over 450 projects, engaging over 15,000 direct participants as well as reaching out to a much wider audience in Asia and Europe.  

ASEM Expansion

At the 5th ASEM Summit in Hanoi (October 2004), the ASEM process expanded from twenty-six to thirty-nine countries, including the ten new members of the European Union, as well as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar. The year 2007 was another historic juncture because ASEM was enlarged to include India, Pakistan, Mongolia, Romania, Bulgaria and the ASEAN Secretariat. Currently, ASEM, and therefore ASEF, has a constituency of forty-five partners.

ASEF Achievements

In the past 13 years, ASEF has implemented over 450 projects, bringing together more than 15,000 direct participants and reaching out to an even wider audience in Asia and Europe.