by pna
The
Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) has officially admitted Bangladesh, Switzerland and Norway as its new members at the ninth ASEM Summit which opened in the Lao capital Vientiane Monday afternoon, expanding its total membership to 51.
Prior to the opening ceremony, a brief enlargement ceremony was held to mark the accession of the three countries into the trans- regional forum.
Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh said her country recognizes the mutual interests and challenges faced by Asia and Europe, which have encouraged the two sides to work together.
She pledged that Bangladesh stands "ready to share expertise and contribute fully to the ASEM process",Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said ASEM's role in shaping the future of Europe and Asia has made it "important" for his country to become a full member.
This is the fourth enlargement of the ASEM since its debut in 1996, bringing its total membership from 26 to 51.
Among them, there are 31 from the European side, namely the 27 European Union member states, the European Commission, Russia and the newly- admitted Norway and Switzerland, and there are 20 members from the Asian side, including 19 Asia-Pacific countries the ASEAN Secretariat.
The biennial ASEM summit has provided a venue for dialogue between Asian and European countries since 1996. The ninth summit runs from Nov. 5-6 under the theme of "Friends for Peace, Partners for Prosperity".
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