EU-ASEAN TREATI Seminars 2008-09
Project Overview
Location:
Bangkok, Thailand
Manila, Philippines
Hanoi, Vietnam
Dates:
19-20 April 2008
23-24 June 2008
13-14 October 2008
Funding Body:
DG Trade
Project Status:
Completed
DEVELOPMENT Solutions is organising and delivering four ASEAN regional seminars in the ASEAN region known as the EU-ASEAN Treati Seminar Series 2008-09. The TREATI seminar series will be held in four installments and will be hosted by select ASEAN member countries. Each installment will focus on a separate issue or barrier that businesses in both regions must contend with in cross-border transactions. The first seminar in Bangkok, hosted following the 4th Joint Committee Meeting in April 2008, focused on the telecommunication and financial services sectors, while the second seminar in Manila, in June 2008, tackled the services industry trade as a whole with special attention given to the port management, maritime transportation and legal and professional services. The seminar in Hanoi in October 2008 will address technical barriers to trade and standards harmonization. Customs and trade facilitation will be the theme of the final seminar which will be held in early 2009.
The EU-ASEAN relationship is of increasing importance as opportunities for trade and investment between the two regions will increase as the ASEAN Community continues to liberalise its markets. Recognising the need for an overall strategic direction in defining Europe’s relations with ASEAN, the European Commission issued a Communication on “A New Partnership with South East Asia” in July 2003. A key element of this policy to enhance political and economic relations with SE Asia was the Trans Regional EU-ASEAN Trade Initiative (TREATI). TREATI was conceived as a framework aimed at achieving practical improvements in EU-ASEAN trade by strengthening economic relations with ASEAN and supporting ASEAN’s own integration ambitions.
ASEAN has been actively engaged in trade negotiations with its Asian neighbors and wider trading partners. The TREATI Seminar Series provides an excellent opportunity to foster dialogue and lay the groundwork for future economic negotiations between the EU and ASEAN; moreover, these seminars serve as a forum for stakeholders in both regions to discuss and cooperate on how best to maximise the gains from trade between the two regions and provide an opportunity for knowledge sharing.
DEVELOPMENT Solutions is organising all of the seminars on behalf of the Directorate-General for Trade of the European Commission with the cooperation of EC Delegations in ASEAN and local authorities. In addition to coordinating with local partners, DS is responsible for the design and production of seminar materials as well as creating and maintaining the project website and ensuring maximum visibility in the region and host country for each event. The audience for the TREATI Seminars consists of high-level policymakers and regulators from the region as well as private sector stakeholders; DS ensures that the agenda is designed and the best experts are recruited to ensure that each event is informative and productive for attendees.
More information regarding the EU-ASEAN Treati Seminar Series 2008-09 can be found at the
project website: www.eu-aseantreatiseminars.org
19-20 April 2008
Bangkok, Thailand
23-24 June 2008
Manila, Philippines
