ASEM 6

Chairman of the Summit, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen,
Heads of State and Government,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Business is the driving force between Asia and Europe. The economic pillar is  the fundament of the ASEM process.

It is a great honour for me as Chairman of the 10th Asia Europe Business Forum   to convey to you the key messages from Asian and European business leaders gathered here in Helsinki yesterday and today.

During the past ten years, the significance of ASEM cooperation has increased. Globalisation and new challenges have helped bring our two continents closer together. We are positively mutually dependent. Joint solutions to common challenges are a necessity. Together, we must remove obstacles and grasp the opportunities that are present. We can also learn a lot from each other.

AEBF has the role of shedding light on the reality in which business operates. For ten years, AEBF has made a number of recommendations of ways to improve the business environment. We are grateful that governments have listened to the AEBF. This dialogue should also continue in the future.

The theme for AEBF10 was “Partnership for Sustainable Growth”. This successfully highlights an important duty of European and Asian companies as well as Governments in the future. Only through determined cooperation can we create conditions for growth which is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.

AEBF10 discussed the same topics that are on your agenda today. Globalisation, competitiveness, energy and the future of multilateralism are issues for which joint responses are needed. AEBF10 has today adopted the set of recommendations to ASEM governments outlined in the Chair’s Statement.

Here, I would like to highlight three main messages from AEBF10.

Firstly, business needs trust in the future. Businesses must have confidence that they can work in a stable and predictable regulatory and economic environment, where obstacles to trade and investment will be removed. The best framework for this is provided by the multilateral trade regime. We strongly urge all ASEM governments to contribute to saving the WTO Doha negotiations, which are in considerable difficulties.

Secondly, we ask the ASEM governments to support competitiveness of our companies by removing discriminatory rules and treatment and by abiding by the agreed common rules. Fair competition and a stable regulatory environment supported by good governance are necessary for business. Free trade is the key for boosting growth and prosperity in our societies.  

Finally, we want to draw serious attention to our joint challenge – how to ensure the availability of environmentally sound energy at a reasonable price. All energy options should be kept open to ensure energy security. The latest technology should be exploited to increase energy efficiency. 

Distinguished ASEM leaders,

I wish you all the success at this Summit meeting. I hope you will agree on joint actions that will pave the way for our economies to develop in partnership towards sustainable growth.