Niclas Kvarnström, Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific at the European External Action Service

Niclas Kvarnström, the newly appointed Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific at the European External Action Service (EEAS), will brief Asia House Corporate Members on the European Union’s diplomatic and strategic approach to Asia at an off-the-record digital briefing on Tuesday, 16 January.  

Speaking from Brussels, Kvarnström will discuss the current state of trade relations between the EU and Asia Pacific countries. In recent years, the EU has strategically prioritised bolstering efforts to strengthen its economic ties with Asia, as the region assumes an increasingly central role in the world economy. Notably, China and ASEAN stand out as two of the EU’s top three largest trading partners outside of Europe. 

The outcomes of the EU-China Summit taking place in Beijing in December 2023, the first to be held in-person in four years, will also be discussed during the briefing. Kvarnström takes up post as the EU’s new Asia Pacific chief at a pivotal time for EU-China relations, amid growing trade tensions between the two regions in sectors such as electric vehicles, microchips and wind energy.   

Previously the head of the Asia Pacific department at the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kvarnström served as Sweden’s Ambassador to Singapore from 2018 and 2021. More recently, Kvarnström hosted the EU Indo-Pacific Forum during the Swedish government’s rotating EU presidency in the first half of 2023.  

The briefing will be held digitally for Asia House Corporate Members and moderated by Asia House Chief Executive Michael Lawrence OBE. To register interest, please email Lin Cong, Programme Producer: lin.cong@asiahouse.co.uk