Source: Statements made by the Ministry of Foreign and European Spokesperson(Friday, December 02, 2011) Paris, 30 November 2011 -  Mr. Alain Juppé, Ministre d’Etat, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, hosted a working lunch for the ambassadors of the 10 Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): Burma, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Ministre d’Etat reaffirmed on this occasion that France attaches particular importance to ASEAN, which is playing an increasingly pivotal international role at the heart of one of the most dynamic regions in the world. France enjoys longstanding relations with this region in which it has major strategic, economic, cultural and scientific interests.

In this context, the Ministre d’Etat underlined that France would like to further strengthen its relations with the Member States as well as with the Association and its General Secretariat. The fight against climate change, to which Southeast Asia is particularly vulnerable, the response to the financial crisis and the global macroeconomic imbalances, and the restructuring of the international banking, economic and financial system are topics regarding which France and ASEAN can exchange views and take action together. He also expressed the wish that relations with the European Union, which is one ASEAN’s main economic partners, be strengthened.

The Ministre d’Etat also referred to the achievements of the French presidency of the G20 and the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, signaling France’s determination to stabilize the Euro Area, which is inseparable from European integration.