ASEM 6

ASEM is an open and informal process of dialogue and cooperation consisting of meetings focusing on different fields and convening on various levels. The most important meeting formations include the meetings of the Heads of State or Government, ministerial meetings, senior officials' meetings and expert-level meetings.

The main guidelines for cooperation are agreed upon at the meeting of Heads of State or Government that are held every second year. The ASEM Foreign Ministers convene for a meeting (FMM) between the summit meetings. Ministerial meetings under the economic pillar include the annual Economic Ministers' Meeting (EMM) and Finance Ministers' Meeting (FnMM). Other ministerial meetings, including meetings of the Ministers of Culture and meetings of the Ministers of the Environment, have also been held but less frequently.

In addition to its annual meeting, the Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM), under the political pillar, usually convenes prior to a summit or ministerial meeting. It carries part of the overall responsibility for the coordination of the ASEM process together with the Foreign Ministers. High-level civil-servant meetings to support the ministers’ work are organised under the economic pillar as well.

The ASEM process does not have a permanent secretariat and therefore the meeting of the ASEM coordinators has a central role in the process. The country holding the rotating EU Presidency, the European Commission and two participating Asian countries, currently Indonesia and Korea, attend the coordinators’ meetings and discuss key issues relating to the development of the ASEM process. The country hosting the ASEM Summit or the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting is also central to the furtherance of the ASEM process.