ASIA-INVEST - Encouraging business cooperation between the EU and Asia
As part of a range of initiatives aimed at promoting greater business cooperation between the EU and Asia, the European Commission has launched a new five-year programme intended to stimulate the formation of long-term business partnerships between SMEs in the EU and Asia. The ASIA-INVEST programme, launched at the beginning of 1998, will dispose of a budget of ECU 45 million over a period of five years. The programme provides a range of instruments to help SMEs research new markets, do business in unfamiliar cultural environments, meet and evaluate potential partners and identify investment opportunities.