Asia and Europe are bringing people and societies closer, with millions of people migrating between the two regions. Germany, the UK and Australia host the largest number of cross-bloc migrants.

Large movements of migrants from the UK to Australia and Russia and Kazakhstan to Germany are associated with historical, cultural and language ties. Russia is the main country of origin for migrants to Europe, followed by India.

In a complex international environment, India and the European Union, both “unions of diversity” sharing values of democracy, rule of law and human rights, are equally convinced of the necessity to preserve the rules-based international order and effective multilateralism. India and the EU have a common interest in each other’s security, prosperity and sustainable development. They can contribute jointly to a safer, cleaner and more stable world. They, therefore, endeavour to develop further their Strategic Partnership based on this Roadmap.

The UK is the top destination for Asian students, with nearly three-quarters coming from China, India and Malaysia. Chinese students represent almost half of Asian students in Europe. Australia is the favourite destination for European students, followed by Japan. Asia is presently open without a visa to more than two-thirds of European passport holders and Europe to one-third of Asian nationalities, as visa openness policies enable students and researchers to travel easily.

International graduate student mobility provides access to quality education abroad and the opportunity to improve language skills and explore different cultures and societies. Around 1,000 students move between the two continents daily – or about 400,000 yearly. More than 200,000 collaborations between Asian and European research institutions take place every year in the form of co-authorship of scientific publications. Cross-bloc collaboration represents nearly one third of research collaborations in Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) countries.

Researchers from institutions in Australia, New Zealand and India collaborate around twice as much with European countries than with Asian countries, and Russian researchers collaborate three times more with European ones. Cross-bloc collaboration is stronger on the Asian side than on the European side since European countries also have a strong internal collaboration network supported by large EU-funded research programmes.

The EU’s bilateral relationships with South Asian countries form a complex mosaic of trade and aid ties, many of which need updating and renewal. Geopolitics is never static. Rebranding India as a key geopolitical player and possible counterweight to China’s growing political and economic presence and influence cannot be done without taking an equally fresh look at the important geostrategic role of other South Asian countries.

Over the past years, South Asia has experienced dynamic economic growth while gaining strategic significance rapidly, thanks to its unique position in the traditional crossroads of Europe and Asia. Considering the growing importance of Asia in the world economy, the EU has made efforts over the last two decades to strengthen economic ties between the EU and Asia. In 1994, the European Commission adopted the ‘Towards a New Asian Strategy’, which emphasised the importance of raising the economic presence of the EU in Asia through tighter trade and investment.

The EU has been trying to conclude Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with important trade partners in Asia. The EU started FTA negotiations with the ASEAN in 2007, and the FTA between the EU and Korea also took effect in July 2011. It is presumed that the EU and Japan will start negotiations on the FTA shortly. Asia is expected to grow economically by forming its type of economic integration. Asian countries have become increasingly important EU trade partners; however, some political issues have been eventually dealt with between the EU and Asia.

The questions to be considered are: how European economic integration and Asian counterparts can be integrated, to what extent the euro crisis will negatively affect the Asian economy, and whether Europe and Asia can join together to tackle global issues.

Europe and Asia may be geographically distant, but they have strong ties with one another, not least due to their mutual dependence on trading. Over the past two decades, this relationship has become institutionalised in multiple ways. The nature of inter-regional cooperation between the EU and its Asian partners identified the obstacles both sides have had to confront and have continuously worked on them to overcome. The internal difficulties and external challenges the EU-Asia has faced in recent years and the solutions they have found are remarkable. EU-Asia relations have a good foundation despite adverse conditions and will continue to strengthen in years to come.

In the context of an emerging multipolar world, Europe and Asia are two regions that play an important role in how global politics are being reconfigured. Given the size and significance of their respective economies and the importance of their mutual trade, the European Union and its Asian partners hold great stakes in the international economic order. Consequently, both regions share a mutual interest in stability and economic growth.

In recognition of this, the EU has developed strategic partnerships with the major powers in Asia— China, India, Japan and South Korea—and, in recent years, has made a concerted effort to be more visible in the Asian-Pacific region, not least in response to the American “pivot” to Asia and the prospect of the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement bringing together key countries around the Pacific rim.

The EU’s interest in Asia, and Asia’s interest in Europe, is now largely commercial. However, the foundation is based on social and cultural ties that have grown over many years. For many Asian economies, the EU is the most important trading partner behind China. As a result, there is a high degree of interdependence between the European and the Asian economies, driven home by the impact of the financial crisis that struck Europe much harder than Asia.

For the EU, exports to China were seen as a way out of the economic crisis, while China and other Asian countries realised that declining demand for their goods threatened their export-oriented growth model. Also, in response to these developments, foreign direct investment flows rose from Asia to Europe, partially to make use of a strategic opportunity. Still, in the process, they also assisted the economic recovery in Europe. Trade and investment are, therefore, key factors in shaping EU-Asia relations.

The achievements in business, education, enhancing social and cultural ties, or successful collaboration amongst the nongovernment setups in both regions throw up huge opportunities for growth and cooperation. After all, each one needs each other.