Heads of state and government of Asian countries and the member states of the European Union (EU) will take trade and economic links as the priority of their two- day Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit.

On Saturday, EU leaders and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun agreed to launch "exploratory talks" on a free trade agreement between the 25-member bloc and the East Asian country.

A free trade agreement between the EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is also expected to be discussed at the biennial summit.

The summit brings together leaders of the EU, the 10 ASEAN nations plus China, South Korea and Japan.

ASEM members account for more than 40 percent of total world trade in goods and over half of the world's GDP.

Prior to the ASEM summit, bilateral summits were held with South Korea and China. Economic and trade relations between China and the EU were high on the agenda of the EU-China summit.

The EU seems to be pursuing bilateral free trade agreements while it is still committed to global trade talks -- the Doha round under the World Trade Organization.

The leaders are expected to work on the early resumption of the Doha round at the summit although chances for concrete results are moderate.

The Doha round, opened in 2001 to remove agricultural and industrial trade barriers, ground to a halt in July after negotiators from the United States, the EU and key developing nations failed to agree on farm tariffs and subsidies and market access for industrial products.

Other topics of the ASEM summit include global security threats, energy security, climate change, and ways to strengthen cultural dialogue, said Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen prior to the summit.

Vanhanen, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, will chair the summit.

An informal meeting of EU finance ministers and central bank governors in Helsinki on Friday and Saturday focused on energy security.

At the ASEM summit, the EU is expected to discuss energy efficiency with Asian countries, where energy consumption is growing fast.

At the informal meeting, EU ministers laid emphasis on the diversification of energy supply, improvement of energy efficiency and promotion of renewable sources, as well as innovation. The points are also relevant to Asian countries.

The summit would also take a decision on the enlargement of ASEM, said Vanhanen. Bulgaria and Romania, which are set to join the EU either in 2007 or 2008, will naturally be allowed. Vanhanen, however, did not comment on whether India and Pakistan would also become members, saying only that there would a discussion on new Asian members.

Politically, the two continents may find common ground on strengthening the United Nations and emphasizing the UN's role as the centerpiece of an effective multilateral system.

However, human rights and the death penalty might turn out to be divisive.

This year's ASEM marks the 10th anniversary of the forum. The next summit will be held in Beijing.

Source: Xinhua