East meets West Expert Series
An Expert Roundtable organised by the Europe-Asia Centre, Brussels – June 2023
Global Gateway is the first EU connectivity strategy that aims at narrowing the global investment gap, estimated at 13 trillion Euros by 2040. Launched in December 2020 Global Gateway is to offer both a strategic framework and a normative-institutional model for practical cooperation in global infrastructure development based on clear principles, key areas, and dedicated sources of financing. With a global scope, Global Gateway is focusing on four regions, including Asia-Pacific, the other being Africa, Latin America, and the Western Balkans.
This roundtable will discuss the objectives, interests, instruments, and capacities related to Global Gateway with regard to the EU’s relations with Asia. What are the key components of Global Gateway? How does the EU implement Global Gateway in the region? How can the EU work with its partners in the region and beyond to ensure coherence and alignment with the EU’s political and economic interests as well as its values? How does Global Gateway address the issue of unsustainable debt and unwanted dependencies, e.g., with regard to China? In how far do the existing Connectivity Partnerships of the EU with India and Japan contribute to the implementation of Global Gateway? What is the role of other like-minded partners, e.g., the Republic of Korea, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the USA? What are the key challenges and opportunities of Global Gateway and to what extent do they inhibit or increase the effectiveness of the strategy’s implementation?
Participating high-level guests
Ambassador (ret.) Piet Steel, Chairman of Europe-Asia Centre (Belgium)
H.E. Ioannis Giogkarakis-Argyropoulos, Head of Division for Asia Pacific Regional Affairs and South Asia – European External Action Service (Greece)
Ambassador Phạm Sanh Châu, Vice-chair of Europe-Asia Centre, Belgium and former Ambassador of Viet Nam to EU (Viet Nam)
Participating experts
Dr. Christiane Prange, Founder & Strategy director Cralan Global Institute, Professor Woxsen University, The Fletcher School – Tufts University, co-author of book ‘XICONOMICS’ (Germany)
Roundtable moderator
Mr Matic Gajsek, Deputy Director, Europe – Asia Center (Belgium)