STOCKHOLM: ministers and representatives are to discuss security challenges and economic cooperation with their counterparts from the Indo-Pacific region in Stockholm on Saturday, reported the German Press Agency (dpa).
Some 30 delegations, including from India, Japan, and Australia, were invited to the Swedish capital. China and Taiwan will not take part.
The region, stretching from East Africa to island nations in the Pacific, generates around 60 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) and is projected to produce 67 per cent of GDP growth in 2023, attracting the EU’s economic interest.
With the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, it is home to waterways that are crucial for global trade flows but also an arena of increasing geopolitical tensions.
The EU counts on economic cooperation with the invited countries to avoid confrontations.
Ministers are expected to discuss different security challenges in the region, sustainable and inclusive growth, and fighting climate change. – BERNAMA-dpa