Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to answer Questions Nos. 5 to 9, inclusive, together.

The tenth ASEM summit of Heads of State and Government took place in Milan on 16 and 17 October 2014, on the theme of Responsible Partnership for Sustainable Growth and Security. The format of the summit involved two plenary sessions and a discussion session. I attended and contributed to the first plenary, Promoting Financial and Economic Cooperation through Enhanced Europe-Asia Connectivity. The Minister of State for European Affairs and Data Protection, Deputy Dara Murphy, attended the second plenary and the less formal discussion on my behalf. In total, the Heads of State and Government, or their high-level representatives, of 51 Asian and European countries attended, together with then President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, the then President of the European Commission, José Barroso, and the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Le Luong Minh. The summit was hosted by the Italian Prime Minister and chaired by Mr Van Rompuy.

The outcome document of the summit is the Chair’s statement which I have circulated with my reply. The main topics covered in that statement include promoting financial and economic co-operation through enhanced Europe-Asia connectivity; Europe-Asia partnership in addressing global matters in an inter-connected world; promoting co-operation on employment, education, social and cultural issues; regional and international issues; and the future direction of ASEM.

On the margins of the ASEM conference I met with the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Mr. Tấn Dũng. We discussed the growing links between Ireland and Vietnam and the possibility of forging closer links in the future, including the restarting of the inter-country adoption process; bilateral trade ties, particularly with regard to meat exports; and Ireland’s development aid programme to Vietnam. I also briefed the Prime Minister on Ireland’s economic recovery. I had a brief meeting with the Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr. Lee Loong. We spoke about the important role played by Brother Joe McNally in cultural and education policy in Singapore, as well as economic issues, including investment and growth. I also had the opportunity for an informal conversation with the Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Shinzo Abe, during which I recalled our very productive meetings in 2013 and welcomed the imminent re-entry of Irish beef to the Japanese market.

See this speech in context