Media Center?of the?Ninth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit [Xinhua Photo]

European and Asian leaders will gather?in?Laos?on Monday for a two-day summit to discuss a host of global challenges topped by economic and security issues.

Under the theme "Friends for Peace, Partners for Prosperity", the Ninth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit will concentrate on economic debates amid a wobbling world's economy which was heavily hit by the international financial crisis broke out four years ago.

The last ASEM summit held in Brussels in 2010 was mainly dominated by economic issues such as reforms to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the wake of Europe's sovereign debt crisis and a strong rebound of Asian economies. "The crisis in the euro area intensified notwithstanding policy action aimed at resolving it," the International Monetary Fund ( IMF) said in its 2012 report referring to the debt crisis that has crippled several European countries including Greece and resulted in a multi-billion dollar bailout package.

From the EU side, there are concerns about the Asian response, particularly from China, and how their cooperation can help solve the problem.

In October, senior finance officials from Asia and Europe agreed during a gathering in Bangkok that Asia's economies would unlikely shrug off the West's economic troubles because Asia and Europe are closely knitted in terms of international trade and investment.

"With the ongoing economic difficulties of some countries in the eurozone, I believe that our cooperation is even more crucial than ever," Thai Deputy Prime Minister Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said ahead of ASEM echoing the general tone of the meeting.

If ASEM countries could cope with the euro debt crisis in a collective manner and certain institutional framework can be set up gradually within the framework, said Dr. Shen Xuhui, associate professor of the Faculty of Social Science of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. "Right now, we still lack this kind of institutional cooperation between the two continents. If when there is a crisis on either side, they can ask for help from an institutional partner, which could change the current political landscape of the global arena," Shen added.

Adding more impetus to east and west engagement, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has also urged reinforced cooperation between member countries. "China has entered the best time in history in its relations with Eurasian countries and is embracing a new height of cooperation for mutual benefit," Wen said while addressing the Second China-Eurasia Economic Development and Cooperation Forum held in Urumqi, China in September.

Overall, the 49 nations from the two continents represent more than half of the world's economic output, about 60 percent of the world's population and over 60 percent of global trade.

As a platform for dialogue launched in 1996, the talks will also touch on other issues of common concerns including, among others, food and energy security, climate change and future direction of ASEM.

On the bilateral front, the China-Japan row could steal the show amid growing concerns that the dispute has begun to hurt bilateral business ties and set off alarms that the spat between the two Asian economic giants might jeopardize global growth and destabilize the security of the entire region.

Japan is also at odds with South Korea over disputed islets, known as Dokdo in South Korean and Takeshima in Japanese. "Europe, appears to be the third party, can bring in additional resources and viewpoints to mediate between the American and non- American blocs. This function could serve as a bridge between the clashing sides," Shen said.

ASEM has 48 members currently and will expand to absorb Norway, Switzerland and Bangladesh at the Vientiane Summit, bringing the total membership to 51.

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