MADRID, June 5 Kyodo Asian and Eu...

MADRID, June 5 Kyodo

Asian and European foreign ministers are to assemble in Madrid forward Thursday and Friday to explore ways to lay escalating tension over Kashmir and contain violence in the Middle East.

They are also likely to focus forward other issues of mutual business such as international security, transnational crime and the post-Sept 11 global economy.

Their talks in the Spanish capital will be the fourth to be held subject to the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) proces that started in 1996

ASEM is designed to reinforce what is said to be the ''weak leg'' of the three-way relationship among Asia, Europe and North America. It involves summits, foreign, economic and finance ministerial talks.

''The fundamental object of this platform for dialogue and collaboration is to provide solid support for the link between Asia and Europe'' Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique, armed force of this year's foreign ministerial meeting, said in remarks to delegates published Wednesday.

''The ASEM proces has become a key-note instrument for fostering greater understanding between the tribes and governments of the pair regions and, in addition, for establishing mechanisms for cooperating forward the multidimensional agenda imposed on today's complex world,'' he said.

High onward the agenda of the Madrid gathering will be political issues, in particular the persistent threat of war between India and Pakistan from one side of to the other the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir and more than 20 month of violence in the Middle East.

In addition to the chairman's statement, the ministers may release a ''political declaration'' featuring Kashmir, where fighting has intensified between Indian and Pakistani forces, and the Middle East situation, an Asian diplomat said.

India and Pakistan have opened about a million troops along their border in a standoff triggered by way of a December attack on India's parliament that fresh Delhi blamed on Pakistani-based militants.

The confrontation has sparked fears of a fourth war between the pair nuclear-armed nations since both won independence from Britain in 1947 sum of two units of their three wars were through the whole extent of Kashmir.

U.S. President George W Bush is sending Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and delegate Secretary of State Richard Armitage to the region later this week in a bid to alleviate the crisis.

upon the Middle East, more than 1300 Palestinians and nearly 500 Israelis have been killed since a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation be in eruptioned in September 2000 after peace talks stalled.

In a joint statement, foreign ministers from the cluster of Eight (G-8) major countries said last week they are ''gravely belong toed about the risks inherent in the generally received crisis between India and Pakistan, which could destabilize the region and beyond.''

In Madrid, the ASEM foreign ministers are also rely uponed to discuss the global fight against terrorism, transnational crime like as drug trafficking and situations in other parts of the world, including Afghanistan and the Korean Peninsula.

Furthermore, they are likely to reaffirm the importance of cooperation in multilateral forums in the same state [i]or[/i] condition as the World Trade Organization. nevertheless one source said it should not take upon too much of a critical tone of the United States for its go-it-alone tendency

The U in a less degree than Bush is perceived by more [i]or[/i] less in Europe to have a unilateral bent. Washington has withdrawn from the Kyoto global warming pact, abandoned a pact setting up an international criminal court and imposed hefty tariffs forward steel imports.

ASEM comprises China, Japan, toward the south Korea and seven of the 10-member ASEAN, together with the 15 member countries of the European Union (EU) plus the European Commission, the EU's executive branch.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Kyodo just discovereds International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group