After 44 years of formal partnership, ASEAN and the EU agreed to upgrade their relationship to a strategic partnership on December 1, 2020.
At first glance, this may seem like a long time coming. After all, these two regional bodies have been engaged in dialogue and agreements for several decades, so it is not completely unexpected. Yet it is also perhaps a surprise, given that the idea of a strategic partnership has been less on the radar in recent years.
The ASEAN-EU strategic partnership can best be regarded as a consolidation of the current range of cooperative arrangements and shared objectives, which is broad, commendable, and impressive compared to earlier phases of the relationship. Read More.