AKIPRESS.COM - The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) turned 20 on March 1, 2016. For the past 2 decades, ASEM has played a pivotal role as a forum for dialogue and cooperation between Asia and Europe, says the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF).

The ASEM Process was initiated in 1996 to establish and deepen the relations between Asia and Europe. The 1st ASEM Summit was organized on 1-2 March 1996 in Bangkok, Thailand. Since then, the ASEM dialogue platform has been instrumental in addressing political, economic and socio-cultural issues to strengthen Asia-Europe connections in mutual respect and equal partnership. ASEF, established in 1997, is the only institution under the ASEM framework.

“The year 2016, has special importance for both ASEM and ASEF. ASEM partners will mark the 20th Anniversary of the ASEM Process and the ASEM leaders will gather at the 11th ASEM Summit in Mongolia to discuss and plan the future of ASEM. ASEF will contribute meaningfully to this significant milestone in Asia-Europe relations with a set of events and publications, including the ASEF Photo Exhibition “On the Go” and the ASEF publication for ASEM’s 20th Anniversary,” highlighted Ambassador Zhang Yan, ASEF Executive Director.

The “On the Go” exhibition consists of a selection of photos by budding and professional photographers from ASEM countries, visualizing differences and similarities between Asians and Europeans. The exhibition was launched on 4 November 2015 in partnership with the City of Luxembourg alongside the 12th ASEM Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Luxembourg. Following the launch, the photographs will be exhibited in a number of other ASEM countries as part of their celebration of the 20th Anniversary of ASEM.

The 11th ASEM Summit will be held in July 2016 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.