On Friday 15 and Saturday 16 July 2016, Luxembourg's Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, was in Ulan Bator in Mongolia, attending the 11th summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).

During the two days, fifty Heads of State or Government discussed ways to further deepen relations and exchanges between the two continents, under the theme "20 years of ASEM: Partnership for the Future through Connectivity".

ASEM, an inter-regional dialogue forum established in 1996, currently has 53 partners. The ASEM Summits are held every two years in Europe and Asia. The 2014 summit was held in Milan in the presence of Luxembourg's Prime Minister.

On Friday 15 July, two plenary sessions were held; the first was devoted to the theme "Two Decades of ASEM partnership, Taking stock and looking ahead", while the second was dedicated to the topic "Promoting Greater connectivity through ASEM partnership." During his speech at the second session, PM Bettel said: "The digital revolution helps to bring countries and people between Europe and Asia. To strengthen ties, excellent digital connectivity is crucial. We are on track; Europe and Asia are advanced in the ICT sector." He explained that he must also fight against the digital divide, especially in developing connectivity by satellite area where Luxembourg is an important player.

The summit allowed the participants to discuss how better economic and financial connectivity between the two continents can better overcome common challenges such as the fight against the economic recession and the also against climate change.

At the summit, the Heads of State and Government adopted the Declaration of Ulan Bator, which sets the foundation for the operation of ASEM for the coming years, as well as the Presidency declaration of ASEM, which summarises the major topics discussed at the summit, including connectivity and the Asia-Europe relations.

On the sidelines of the summit of Ulan Bator, the Prime Minister met with several of his counterparts. At a bilateral meeting with Russian Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, the two counterparts took stock of relations between the EU and Russia as well as bilateral issues. PM Bettel also met with President of Myanmar and Prime Ministers of Mongolia, Singapore and Laos. These meetings helped to deepen bilateral relations to exchange views on international news.

After the ASEM summit, the Prime Minister visited the Shastin hospital specialised in the field of cardiology and the Mother to Child National Health Centre. Both hospitals also active in the field of telemedicine are actively supported for several years by the Luxembourg development cooperation.

Photo by ME (top, L-R): Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan; Xavier Bettel, Prime Minister of Luxembourg