Ban Ki-Moon Urges 'Global Cooperation' at Conclusion of Asia Society Dialogue in Brussels
Belgium meeting marked culmination of Asia Society's 'Asia Rising' dialogue series
BRUSSELS, June 15, 2016 — United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon today called upon Asia, Europe and the United States to “come together and make a decisive difference” in the areas of climate change, sustainable development, and humanitarian action — with a specific focus on the global refugee crisis, which he called “not only a crisis of numbers” but “a crisis of solidarity.”
Speaking at the Royal Palace of Brussels at the conclusion of high-level talks organized by Asia Society, Ban stressed that “global cooperation is essential” to address these mounting concerns.
“But across the world,” he continued, “one can also see worrying tendencies to look inward — or strike outward — when pressure mounts. The most important dynamics of the international community today are no longer between developed and developing countries, East and West, or North and South. Instead, we are unified in the challenges we face and in the potential we have. We should think of ourselves as one humanity with a shared responsibility.”
Ban’s remarks, which can be read in full here, brought to a close the Brussels edition of Asia Society's ongoing Asia Rising dialogue, entitled “Forging a Shared Future: Strategic Cooperation between Asia, Europe, and the United States.”
The Brussels meeting was the culmination of the global dialogue series, launched by Asia Society with the goal of filling a gap in high-level discourse, and creating a forum where the United States, Europe and Asia (including the Middle East) could come together in partnership to tackle mutual challenges. The dialogues sought to enhance cooperative partnerships either through existing formal and informal mechanisms or through recommendations for new opportunities of collaboration.
"We are deeply grateful to His Majesty the King of the Belgians for hosting Asia Society's first ever tri-continental high level dialogue between the U.S., Europe, and Asia," Asia Society President Josette Sheeran said. "This first-of-its-kind gathering seeks to address the deficit of trust and cooperation between the world's three biggest economic zones on finding concrete solutions to urgent challenges."
In 2014, Asia Society consulted with more than two dozen senior thought leaders from Asia, the United States, Russia, Europe, and the Gulf to guide the development of this concept. Earlier sessions that were held in New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Seoul included 30–40 senior leaders from the policy and business arenas, as well as additional distinguished thinkers and leaders not currently serving as official government representatives.
The resulting observations and recommendations from these dialogues will be curated into a set of findings and presented to national, regional, and global leaders later this year. These findings will also be presented to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, as well as to the candidates in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.
Delegates to the Brussels dialogue included Asia Society Co-Chairs Henrietta Fore and Ronnie Chan, Asia Society Policy Institute President Kevin Rudd, and more than 90 leaders from the worlds of diplomacy, business, scholarship, business, technology and civil society. Some 10 percent of the participants were "next-generation" leaders from Europe, the United States and Asia, including several members of Asia Society's Asia 21 Young Leaders network. Topics covered included global prosperity, the growing gap between rich and poor, confronting extremism, exploring shared values, and education.
In his speech Wednesday, Ban thanked Asia Society “for being such a good partner of the United Nations” and noted that “Asia is a powerful example of the benefits of development, as well as the challenges associated with it.”
And, he added, with Asia’s rise comes increased responsibility for the region’s governments.
“Globally we have the tools to eliminate poverty and advance development for all,” he said. “With remarkable technological capacities and great power in all realms, Asia, Europe and the United States are well placed to ensure a sustainable future for people and the planet.”