1. ASEAN Member States (AMS) and the European Union (EU) Trade Commissioner met on 18 September 2022 for the Eighteenth AEM–EU Trade Commissioner Consultation. The Consultation was co-chaired by H.E. PAN Sorasak, Minister of Commerce, Kingdom of Cambodia, and Mr. Christophe Kiener, Head of Unit for Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Directorate-General for Trade, European Commission, representing H.E. Valdis Dombrovskis, Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People and EU Trade Commissioner.

2. The Meeting noted that the two regions are starting to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. According to ASEAN’s statistics, the total value of two-way merchandise trade between ASEAN and the EU reached USD 268.9 billion in 2021, which grew by 18.6 percent, year-on-year, from 2020. The Meeting also noted that foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow from the EU to ASEAN increased by 42.9 per cent in 2021 on a year-on-year basis and amounted to USD 26.5 billion, placing the EU as ASEAN’s second largest external source of FDI among all ASEAN’s Dialogue Partners in that year.

Download the full statement here