Remarks by President Donald Tusk at the opening ceremony of the ASEM summit

First of all thank you President Elbegdorj for expressing solidarity at the attack in Nice on the French national day. It's a tragic paradox that the subject of this attack were people celebrating liberty, equality and fraternity. Today we all, Europe and Asia, stand united with the French people and their government. We condemn this tragedy and keep up our fight against extreme violence and hatred.

Mr. President, thank you for welcoming us in Ulaanbaatar on this important occasion, as we celebrate the twentieth anniversary of ASEM. I had the pleasure yesterday to learn more from you about the proud and rich heritage of the Mongolian people. Your horse relay postal system from the 13th and 14th centuries, for instance, was the original connectivity project. I am happy that we meet here in Mongolia to advance on further connecting Asia and Europe.

Europe attaches great importance to our partnership with Asia. And ASEM is a unique forum to bring Europe and Asia closer, in all spheres: economic, political, and people-to-people.

We have a lot to gain from working closely together - and much to lose if we do not. Together we account for about 60% of the world population, and of the world's trade and GDP.

As leaders, we have a duty to maintain peace, security and stability, and work for prosperous, cohesive and sustainable societies. Of course, we have our differences. But there is much more uniting us than dividing us. We have an obligation not only to keep it that way but also to improve our relations and cooperation.

We have the chance to make the most of our cooperation by strengthening our trade and investment links, by bringing our citizens closer to each other. We should use this chance to increase our mutual understanding in practice by promoting enhanced links between our regions - from transport to digital highways.

Our cooperation is not without challenges. That is why dialogue and a strong commitment to the rules-based international order are necessary. Common and predictable rules make states more secure, people more free and encourage companies to invest with more confidence. Europe and Asia also share responsibilities for turning our climate change commitments and sustainable development goals into reality, promoting reformed global governance, addressing terrorism and the migration and refugee crisis.

All of these topics will be on the menu of our meeting. I hope that the Ulaanbaatar Summit will be remembered for our determination to find common solutions.

ASEM has come a long way in the last 20 years. We have achieved a lot together, but we have more work to do. I look forward to our discussions. Thank you.