Assessing the EU's role in South Asia

Today, we are experiencing that the European Union and its model of democratic societies are losing their worldwide popularity. In the new era of rivalry between authoritarian states on the one hand and liberal democracies on the other, the Indo-Pacific region plays a crucial geopolitical role. Not only does it represent a large proportion of global GDP, it also features the most crucial maritime trade routes and is home to the largest part of the world’s population. That is why it has become a strategic battleground for world powers over influence – especially China and the US.

The EU and some of its member states, too, have recognized the strategic importance of the Indo-Pacific and emphasize EU-ASEAN cooperation. Still, the EU's influence in the region remains rather limited. How is the EU perceived in South Asia? How could it expand its role as a global player in the region? And how should a fruitful cooperation between the Indo-Pacific and the EU look like from the liberal perspective?

The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and the Karl-Hermann-Flach-Stiftung invites you to discuss these and other issues together with our experts.

This event is part of the series Global Europe – Global Expectations on the EU’s role in other world regions. The EU’s role in Southeast Asia is also discussed in the publication “Global Europe – Global Expectations. Assessing the EU's role in the world”, which was co-authored by our guest speaker Dr. Nadia Farooq.

Gast
Dr. Nadia Farooq
holds a PhD in economics and is currently a research scholar at Georgia State University USA. She has vast experience in public policy, economic research, analysis, economic modelling and policy design. She has more than 15 years of work experience as a macroeconomist, economic consultant and policy expert with multilateral organizations including the Asian Development Bank. She has contributed to several articles and books on economics and economic policy.

Gast
Ria Schröder MdB
is a member of the Free Democrats parliamentary group in the German Bundestag. The lawyer is also deputy state chairwoman of the FDP Hamburg and a member of the federal executive board of the Free Democrats. She was federal chairwoman of the Young Liberals until 2020. As education policy spokesperson for the Free Democrats parliamentary group and member of the Committee for Education, Research and Technology Assessment, she advocates for opportunities for advancement and excellent education regardless of parental background.