European and Asian Liberals strengthen cooperation - Main contents
A delegation of Asian liberals and Democrats are in Brussels this week on the occasion of the 7th biannual ALDE-CALD Summit, this year held in the European Parliament. Formed in 1993, the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) is the regional alliance of liberal and democratic political parties in Asia.
High-level summit meetings between ALDE and CALD have been held alternately between Europe and Asia since 2004, with these timely gatherings organised to discuss the challenges and opportunities for liberals and democrats in the two continents.
Now in its 7th edition, the ALDE-CALD summit beginning on Wednesday 1 June entitled "Bailout, Refugee Crisis and Terrorism: implications for regional integration" will allow members of the CALD delegation to share their experiences, lessons learned and conduct discussions on the commonalities between Europe and Asia with regard to these issues with senior ALDE colleagues in Brussels.
Ahead of the opening of the Summit discussions, the ALDE Party hosted a panel discussion at the ALDE Party HQ to discuss the similarities and differences in the political contexts and organisational operations of ALDE Party and CALD, with the goal of learning from each other’s relevant experiences and practices.
In his contribution to the discussion ALDE Party President Hans van Baalen MEP welcomed the delegation and expressed his hope that following the meeting cooperation between the ALDE Party and CALD will intensify since “Liberals are stronger together."
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