On 6-7 July 2023, ASEF Governors from across Asia and Europe, including from the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathered in Barcelona, Spain for the 44th ASEF Board of Governors annual meeting.
See the list of ASEF Board of Governors.
The main outcome of the discussion was the adoption of ASEF’s Strategic Plan, which will serve as an operational framework for developing, implementing, and streamlining ASEF projects and activities. As ASEF celebrated its 25th Anniversary in 2022, it was a notable moment to take stock of the work done in the last 25 years and to initiate the design of the roadmap for the coming years. With this strategic plan, ASEF will respond to the new demands of the evolving dynamics of the relations between Asia & Europe. This plan aims to adjust our mission to the current realities, identify relevant opportunities and devise solutions to continue strengthening people-to-people connections between the two regions, as per our mandate.
This full board meeting was preceded by the Finance and Audit Committee (FAC) and the Executive Committee (ExCo) meetings on 4 and 5 July 2023, respectively.
Photo 1 (left to right): Ambassador MORIKAWA Toru, ASEF Executive Director; Ambassador Magdalena BOGDZIEWICZ (Poland); Ambassador Soemadi BROTODININGRAT (Indonesia); Mr Robert GOEBBELS (Luxembourg); Prof Wee Hin TAN Leo (Singapore) (online); Ms Chung Yan CHU, ASEF Finance Manager.
Photo 2 (left to right): Mr Ahmad Kamrizamil MOHD RIZA (Malaysia); Mr Robert GOEBBELS (Luxembourg); Ambassador Kuni SATO (Japan); Mr Javier PARRONDO, Chair of ASEFBoG44 (Spain); Ambassador MORIKAWA Toru, ASEF Executive Director; Ms Maeve GALLAGHER (Ireland); Ambassador Judit PACH (Hungary); Ambassador Soemadi BROTODININGRAT (Indonesia); Mr Ernesto BRAAM (Netherlands) (online); Prof Wee Hin TAN Leo (Singapore) (online).
For the side-event of the 44th ASEF Board of Governors Meeting, ASEF joined forces with SciTech DiploHub – Barcelona Science and Technology Diplomacy Hub and Casa Asia to promote an international exchange on “The role of cities, science and technology in shaping global geopolitics”, bringing together different experts from Asia and Europe for an exchange of experiences and knowledge. In the audience were more than 350 representatives of Barcelona’s science, technology, innovation and international affairs ecosystem including rectors, vice-rectors, directors of research centers, tech leaders, as well as representatives from ASEF countries and other members of the diplomatic corps accredited in Barcelona and Madrid.
Photo 1 (left to right): Kimberly Montgomery, Director of International Affairs and Science Diplomacy at the AAAS; Yoichiro Matsumoto, Science and Technology Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan; Zehra Sayers, Former Chair of the Science Advisory Committee of SESAME and Former President of Sabanci University, Stephanie Balme, Dean of Science Po College and Academic Freedom Officer.
Photo 2: Amb Toru Morikawa, ASEF Executive Director.
See all the photos of ASEFBoG44.
The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) is an intergovernmental, not-for-profit organisation which brings together the people of Asia and Europe to address common global challenges.
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Last update: 13 July 2023