Foreign ministers for a two-day ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) session closed Saturday in central Japanese city Kyoto have called for further cooperation between Asia and Europe through ASEM in tackling global challenges.

During the 7th ASEM Foreign Ministers' Meeting, foreign ministers or representatives from 38 countries and an international organization commission held three rounds of discussions on issues in which they have a common interest, including strengthening of multilateralism, sustainable development and dialogue among cultures and civilizations, under the theme "Deepening of Asia-Europe Dialogue on Global Challenges".

The ministers expressed their determination to strengthen cooperation and welcomed the "Asia-Europe Partnership to Tackle Global Challenges."

They also discussed the future of ASEM in the areas of substantive cooperation, improvement of the efficiency of ASEM institutional mechanisms, and future membership enlargement.

Their focus also includes Asian consultations about a planned East Asia Summit, regional security, UN reform and the environment as well as fence-mending efforts between Japan and China, and Japan and South Korea, through a series of talks on the sidelines of full sessions of the formal ASEM foreign ministers' meeting.

The foreign ministers stressed in the chairman's statement issued at the end of the meeting the need to reform the United Nations, including the General Assembly and the Security Council, and to ensure broader representation, transparency and effectiveness of the world body.

The ministers also confirmed the commitment to multilateralism and to fair, just and rule-based international order with the United Nations playing the central role to address new global challenges and threat.

They reiterated the importance of strengthening efforts on disarmament and no-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery as well as related materials and technology.

The ministers called upon all states to accede to, ratify and implement all of the 12 international counter-terrorism conventions and protocols and implement relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, the statement says.

Meanwhile, the ministers deepened their understanding on the development of regional integration in Asia and Europe: ASEAN-plus- 3 cooperation, the movement toward an East Asian community and the East Asia Summit, as well as development in further EU integration and enlargement.

They also urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to return to the negotiating table of the six-party talks without any further delay, and to make a strategic decision so as to achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The ministers stressed the need to provide support for the success of the Afghan parliamentary and provincial elections scheduled on September 18.

They took note of the concerns over the current situation in Myanmar and renewed their expectations for lifting of all restrictions and development of democratization process at the earliest possible time which involves all the parties concerned.

Moreover, the ministers called on the Myanmar government to grant access to the special representatives of the UN secretary general and continue cooperation with other relevant UN agencies.

For economy and culture terms, they decided to enhance dialogues among cultures and civilizations between Asia and Europe while expressing concern over the impacts of high oil prices on global economic growth.

Participants from the 10 members from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Japan, China, South Korea and the 25 European Union members as well as the European Commission joined the full ASEM talks.

Foreign ministers from the ASEAN members, China, Japan and South Korea held the so-called ASEAN-plus-three meeting before the ASEM meeting and discussed which countries outside the framework can join an East Asia Summit, based on an agreement ASEAN foreign ministers reached last month in the Philippines.

ASEAN agreed that the first meeting of an East Asia Summit will be held in Kuala Lumpur at the end of this year among countries that can maintain close dialogue with ASEAN, agree to accede to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation and have substantive relationships with ASEAN in politics, economics, culture and other fields.

Created in 1996, ASEM is described as an "informal dialogue process" with the main objective of forging a comprehensive partnership between Asia and Europe. It is the only forum where Europe and East Asia engage one another at the highest levels of government to discuss international issues of common concern and formulate mutually beneficial cooperation on a region-to-region basis.

ASEM groups the 25 member states of the European Union and 13 Asian countries -- Japan, China and South Korea plus the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- plus a representative of the European Commission.

ASEM represents an estimated one-third of the world's population of roughly 2 billion people with combined gross domestic product of up to one-half the world's total.