CERC Public Seminar: 'The Asia-Europe partnership in global governance - a retrospective and look at the prospects'

Tuesday 9 May, 1:00-2:00pm
at Room 212, Level 2, 234 Queensberry Street, The University of Melbourne

presented by

Dr Yeo Lay Hwee

(M.A (University of Canterbury), Ph.D (National University of Singapore)
Executive Director and Senior Research Fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs)

Abstract

When the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) was first conceived and subsequently launched in 1996, the rationale was to develop stronger links between Asia and Europe thereby contributing to peace, global stability and prosperity. During the inaugural summit held in Bangkok in 1996, the 26 leaders from 10 East Asian countries and 15 EU member states and President of the European Commission reaffirmed their strong commitment to the various UN initiatives and recognized the importance of Asia-Europe cooperation in promoting global initiatives and strengthening global governance.

Yet 10 years down the road, the Asia-Europe partnership under the ASEM framework, and ASEM’s relevance in the broader international context has been questioned. How much has Asia and Europe worked in concert to influence global agenda and cooperate to provide leadership on key global issues in the last decade? And what are the prospects for closer Asia-Europe cooperation to share the burdens of global responsibility as both regions face common challenges posed by increasing unilateralism and uncertainties on a global scale.

Biography

The focus of Dr Yeo’s research in SIIA includes peace and development in ASEAN, ASEAN’s external relations (particularly with the European Union), the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) process and comparative regionalism. Prior to joining the SIIA, Dr Yeo had worked in the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Information and the Arts, and taught in the University of Macau and National University of Singapore. She had also worked in other research think tanks such as the Institute of Policy Studies, the Danish Institute of International Affairs in Copenhagen , and was also Senior Visiting Fellow at the International Institute for Asian Studies at University of Leiden.

Dr Yeo has written and lectured extensively on different dimensions of Asia-Europe relations and on comparative regionalism and contributes regularly to commentaries and analysis to the newspapers. Her recent publications include “ Asia and Europe : The Development and Different Dimensions of ASEM” (published by Routledge) and “The Eurasian Space: Far more than two continents” (co-edited with Wim Stokhof and Paul van der Velde, published by ISEAS).