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sian and European ministers and high-ranking officials meeting in Gurgaon, India, have agreed to prioritize collaboration in disaster risk mitigation and management, amid a trend of extreme global weather and impact of storms such as Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

In a final statement from the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting'€™s (ASEM) Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM) in Gurgaon, which concluded on Tuesday, they agreed to improve relationships between countries in both continents and intensify efforts for greater synergy.

Collaboration between the two continents in disaster risk mitigation and management is vital, especially after the massive destruction and loss of life caused by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and Vietnam, as well as the phenomenon of extreme weather that has taken place around the world, such as the record heatwaves in Australia and floods in several European countries.

'€œWe felt that ASEM should have the capacity to respond immediately in such instances. Many members have committed support in response to the specific requirements conveyed by the Philippines and also indicated their readiness to do likewise for Vietnam,'€ said Salman Khurshid, the External Affairs Minister of India, this year'€™s ASEM chair, in a press conference on Tuesday.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa voiced an appeal to Asian and European nations to engage in more solid cooperation that offered concrete assistance for people, particularly in the area of sustainable development. '€œSustainable development can be accomplished through an optimal balance between growth, social equity and environmental stainability. More concretely, it can also be attained through better facilitation of trade and investment, improving connectivity and supporting Small and Medium Enterprises [SME],'€ Marty said before the forum.

The European Commission (EC) and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), both also ASEM members, were represented respectively by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and EC Vice President Catherine Ashton and ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh.

ASEM also discussed ways to improve cooperation in economic and security sectors. '€œWe have exchanged views and ideas on how to revive growth, create jobs especially for young people and catalyze economic growth. We have also discussed non-traditional security threats in detail, particularly, terrorism, drug trafficking and transnational crimes,'€ Khurshid said.

Other issues discussed in the two-day ministerial meeting included food, water and energy security, as well as '€œthe emerging issues related to cyber crime and cyber security, which are confronting national governments and institutions on both continents,'€ said the Indian minister.

This issue came on the heels of the revelation of alleged espionage activities by the US and Australia against Indonesia, which has soured Jakarta'€™s relationship with Washington and Canberra.

The 11th ASEM FMM chair'€™s final statement reads: '€œ['€¦]the need to exchange information on activities of cyber crime and where cyber space is used by terrorists for financing, recruitment, communication and radicalization ['€¦] underlining that internet security should not be achieved at the expense of freedom of expression.'€

Also mentioned in the statement was the organization of the 9th Asia Europe Foundation (ASEF) Journalists'€™ Colloquium, in Gurgaon in conjunction with the ASEM meeting. A Jakarta Post reporter was also selected to participate in the colloquium, titled Media and the Green Agenda: Reporting on Sustainable Development in Asia and Europe, with 27 other journalists from ASEM member countries.

The ASEM is an informal, intergovernmental forum for dialogue and cooperation to deepen relations between Asia and Europe. Being initiated in 1996 in Bangkok, Thailand, the forum has been addressing issues on politics, economy and socio-cultural of common concern.