Inaugurating the 11th meeting of the forum, which brings together 60 percent of world's population, 52 percent of global GDP and close to 70 per cent of world trade, Vice President Hamid Ansari said, "The vitality and continuing relevance of ASEM highlights its importance as a bridge between Asia and Europe and as a platform for dialogue to promote stability, peace and development.
"The world economy continues to be sluggish and emerging economies that were previously seen as the engines of economic growth have been compelled to take tough decisions they can ill afford, given the enormity of their developmental needs," Ansari said.
Noting that the international community was also facing a degree of unprecedented sophistication in non-traditional security threats, the Vice-President said, these transcend national borders and traditional response patterns and necessitate considerably higher levels of comprehension and cooperation.
"We should endeavour to take it beyond being a forum for political dialogue only, make it reach out to the people of Member States and create wider stake-holding amongst economic partners and civil society.We should invest its outcomes with tangible deliverables," he said.