The 8th ASEM Summit was held from Oct. 4 to 5 of 2010 in Brussels, Belgium. Chinese Premier WEN Jiabao addressed the opening ceremony and proposed to establish an ASEM Water Resources Research Center in China’s Hunan Province to improve water resources management and sustainable development in Asian and European countries through cooperation in science and technology. The proposal was highly acclaimed and incorporated into the Sustainable Development Chapter of the Chair’s Statement as one major achievement of the meeting.
The Center aims at providing a platform for ASEM members interested in cooperation the relevant fields of water resources. The Center will facilitate exchanges in information about S&T strategies, policies and R&D programs, promote joint research and technology exchange, stimulate technology transfer and demonstration, enhance personnel exchange and capacity building, etc. All of these will help to develop a long-term partnership among the countries, resolve common problems in water resources utilization, management and environment protection. It will also provide technical and policy support for ASEM and its member governments.
