The annual meeting between the two sides began in 2022 in Paris during the French presidency of the Council of the EU, just days before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Last year, it took place in Stockholm, when the rotating presidency fell to Sweden.
This time, however, Belgium — which is currently presiding over the Council of the EU — opted not to be a cohost. “They did send Princess Astrid to join the ministers for lunch,” said a European diplomat. “But that’s about it.”
The Belgian foreign ministry said “it is entirely up to” the European External Action Service to organize such forums. It should be avoided that “the implementation of the EU strategy for the Indo-Pacific would become dependent on the goodwill of the rotating presidency” or the EU, the ministry said in a statement.
The Belgian ministry said the Indo-Pacific ministerial meeting should become an annual event and advocated its “institutionalization.”
US-China focus
The other notable absentees were China and the United States.
While Beijing has never been on the guest list, the U.S. was invited to the Stockholm meeting last year, with U.S. State Department Counselor Derek Chollet attending.
