9th Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership Meeting takes place in Mongolia

Ulaanbaatar, 21.04.16/ The 9th Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP9) Meeting starts today in Ulaanbaatar, as the first meeting of the nine side events taking place in Mongolia ahead of the 11th ASEM Summit.

The ASEP9, as an inter-parliamentary forum for exchanging of diplomacies and partnership proposals, hosts 152 parliamentarians from 32 nations and high level delegations from the European Parliament. Earlier this week, the Speaker of House of the People in India, Ms Sumitra Mahajan and the Speaker of Senate in Italy Mr. Pietro Grasso paid official visits to Ulaanbaatar ahead of the meeting. Today, the Chairman of the State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia, Enkhbold Zandahkhuu is receiving the Speakers of parliament from Thailand, and Deputy Parliament Speakers from Australia, Indonesia, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Vietnam and Spain at the government palace in Ulaanbaatar.

The two day meeting will address the roles and impacts of ASEP dialogues in the cooperation of the ASEM nations, before it moves onto discussions on “Connectivity and Effective Multilateralism” and “Partnership for the Future”. A new referendum from the Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership will be approved at the end of the meeting, which will be presented at the 11th ASEM Summit on 15-16 July 2016 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

The ASEP9 is led by Enkhbold Zandaakhuu, Chairman of the State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia and the President of the ASEP9 meeting. For the first time in Mongolia, the Speaker of Mongolian parliament took parliamentary diplomacy to Twitter and greeted all of his counterparts from his twitter account @enkhboldz ahead of their arrivals today.

About ASEP9

The Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP) Meeting is part of the overall Asia-Europe partnership process. It serves as a forum for interparliamentary contacts, exchanges and diplomacy among parliaments, and to promote mutual understanding among the people and countries of Asia and Europe. ASEP meetings shall normally be convened on a regular bi-annual basis alternately in Asia and in Europe before the ASEM Summit.

About ASEM11

The 11th ASEM Summit is to be the most significant international dialogue event Mongolia has ever hosted since 1600’s. Over 5,000 delegates expected to attend at the 11th ASEM Summit including heads of states, governments, parliaments and business leaders from 53 member countries across Europe and Asia. The 11th ASEM Summit is also going to be a significant event as it is marking the 20th Anniversary of Asia-Europe meeting dialogue process inaugurated in 1996 in Bangkok, Thailand.

For more information please visit at: http://asep9.parliament.mn
Follow ASEM11 Summit developments at www.asem11.mn, and @asem11en.