PHNOM PENH, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia celebrated the ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Day here on Tuesday, aiming at raising awareness among the public on the importance of ASEM.

The Southeast Asian country will be hosting the 13th ASEM Summit (ASEM13) in Phnom Penh on Nov. 16-17.

Speaking at the event, Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn said the celebration of the ASEM Day was another manifestation of Cambodia's readiness and strong commitment to the ASEM13 Summit.

"ASEM has played a crucial role in promoting Asia-Europe partnership and cooperation for enhanced peace, economic prosperity and social progress," he said. "Moreover, it is without any doubt that ASEM has become one of the cornerstones of the multilateral system and global governance."

Sokhonn, who is also a deputy prime minister, said ASEM is comprised of 53 partners, encompassing of 21 Asian countries, 30 European countries, the ASEAN Secretariat, and the European Commission.

Collectively, he said ASEM partners represent 65 percent of the global economy, 60 percent of the world's population, 55 percent of the world trade and 75 percent of the world tourism.

He said Cambodia has proposed "Strengthening Multilateralism for Shared Growth" as the theme of the forthcoming summit, saying that this theme focuses on the interaction of four main ideas, namely multilateralism, growth, sustainable development and prosperity.

"Altogether they can contribute formidably to the strengthening of the Asia-Europe partnership to ensure that multilateralism brings sustainable and inclusive growth and shared prosperity," Sokhonn said.

"In my view, it is only through our unified and shared purpose can we hope to revitalize multilateralism and energize our collective efforts to tackle current and emerging global challenges of our time," he added.

ASEM was founded in 1996 and Cambodia became its member in 2004. Enditem

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