The European Union (EU) and Asian foreign ministers Sunday pledged to jointly boost multi-lateralism in international relations after discussions on how to further the cooperation between Asia and Europe in the areas of politics, economy and culture.

These remarks were made at the end of the sixth ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Kildare, a golf resort some 40 km west of Ireland's capital of Dublin.

The two-day meeting, whose theme is "how can we sustain an international order based on effective multi-lateralism," was attended by 15 EU nations and Brunei, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

During the meeting, the foreign ministers exchanged views on anti-terrorism, conflict prevention, the central role of the United Nations, issues of the Korean Peninsula, Afghanistan, Iraq,the Middle East peace process and non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).

The effects of globalization in its different forms, the negotiations taking place in the framework of the World Trade Organization, the need to ensure sustainable global development, the dialogue between cultures and civilizations, and international public health also topped the agenda of the ASEM foreign ministers.

In a keynote speech on multi-lateralism at a working reception Saturday, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said multi-lateralism provides mankind with an effective way to deal with common challenges and important means to solve international disputes, a view widely shared with by other foreign ministers."

"Evolution of effective multi-lateralism hinges on the establishment of global partnership guided by new concepts of security, development and civilization and based on equality, mutual trust and cooperation," Li told the gathering hosted by Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency.

Partnerships should be built on the cornerstone of equal participation in international affairs, be maintained on the basisof mutual trust fostered through dialogue and be consolidated through mutually beneficial cooperation, Li said.

He also stressed that to deepen the equal partnership between Asia and Europe is consistent with the continents' shared interests and the direction in which multi-lateralism develops.

Since the fifth ASEM Foreign Ministers' meeting held at Bali in Indonesia last year, international situation has undergone major changes: some are pleasant, others disturbing. On the one hand, peoples around the world are more eager than ever before to pursue peace and better life. On the other, discord and instability are on the rise under the interaction of traditional and non-traditional security factors.

Facing enormous challenges, just as Li pointed out, multi-lateralism provides "an efficient guarantee for sound development of globalization and the best approach to promoting democracy and rule of law in international relations."

Agreeing on how to maintain an international order based on enhanced multi-lateralism, the foreign ministers agreed on the need for a strong UN system in order to deal effectively with threats and challenges, reaffirming their commitment to multi-lateralism and to "a fair and just rules-based international order,with a strong United Nations at its heart, to resolve international disputes, to promote positive aspects of globalization, and to advance democratization of international relations."

They also vowed to pursue multilateral solutions to such issues as fighting poverty, terrorism , WMD proliferation, human rights violations and obstacles to global trade.

In a chairman's statement on the meeting, the foreign ministersagreed to defeat terrorism and transnational organized crimes by solidarity and collective action, acknowledging that all actions against terror must be taken in accordance with the provisions of the UN Charter and international law.

On the issue of Iraq, they expressed their support to the earliest possible return of sovereignty to the Iraqi people, calling on all sides to make every effort to avoid civilian casualties and damage to property, and strongly endorsing a more direct and central UN role in Iraq's political transition process.

After considering the development in the Middle East peace process, they stressed their commitment to a negotiated two-state solution agreed between the parties which would result in a viable,contiguous, sovereign and independent Palestine state existing side by side in peace with Israel living within recognized and secure borders.

On the issue of Korean Peninsula, they welcomed the positive outcome of the second round of the Six-Party Talks and supported the efforts of the parties to hold the third round of the Six-Party Talks by the end of June, expressing their hope that the next round of talks would yield further substantive progress.

Reaffirming their commitment to the ASEM process as a unique vehicle for dialogue and cooperation between Europe and Asia, theystrongly believed that the fifth ASEM Summit in Vietnam's capital of Hanoi in October would provide further dynamism for ASEM'S endeavors to effectively contribute to multilateral efforts in developing international relations based on equality, equity and mutual interest, to elevate ASEM economic synergy to a higher level commensurate with the two region's potential and to consolidate unity in cultural diversity.

Analysts said the gathering has reflected high commitments of the ASEM members to protecting the authority of the UN and to solving international conflicts and disputes through internationalcooperation based on justice and equality.

Source: Xinhua