ASEM Summit to be held in Helsinki

Government Communications Unit

Press release 221/2005
4 July 2005




The Cabinet Committee on European Union Affairs decided on Monday 4 July that the Asia-Europe meeting, ASEM Summit, to be organised during the Finnish EU Presidency will be held in Helsinki. According to a decision made by the Cabinet Committee in January, the meeting was to be held in Tampere. However, because of the meeting's exceptional size and requirements set by it, reasons relating to practical arrangements lead to a decision to relocate the meeting of 14 and 15 September 2006 to Helsinki.

The ASEM Summit is expected to attract some 1 600 attendants, 650 representatives of the media and 400 representatives of the organisers. The total number of people at the event is estimated at 4 500 when the police and other support personnel needed in the Summit is added up. These figures do not include the attendants of the Business Forum and the People's Forum that are organised in connection with the Summit. Exclusive of premises needed for the police and the connected events, the number of hotel rooms needed is estimated at some 2800, which exceeds the estimate made in January.

Better changes of centralising the meeting facilities and to guarantee successful arrangements, even if the number of attendants would grow, contributed to the decision to change the venue.

The sixth ASEM Summit is also a ten-year anniversary meeting. At least 39 official delegations from Europe and Asia will attend the meeting.

Further information: Anja Vilo, Head of the Presidency Secretariat, Prime Minister's Office, tel. +358 9 1602 2621