The Ninth Asia-Europe Meeting ( ASEM) will open Monday in the Lao capital of Vientiane under the theme of"Friends for Peace, Partners for Prosperity".

Launched in 1996, the biennial ASEM summit has provided a venue for dialogue between Asian and European countries, with its members from the European Commission, the ASEAN Secretariat and 49 countries after the expected accession of Bangladesh, Switzerland and Norway at this summit.

The following are the previous eight ASEM summits and their themes.

The First ASEM summit was held in the Thai capital of Bangkok on March 1-2, 1996, under the theme of "Promoting the Establishment of All-round, New Asia-Europe Partnership".

The Second ASEM summit was held in London April 3-4, 1998, focusing on the issue of how to cope with the Asian financial crisis.

The Third ASEM summit was held in Seoul, South Korea, Oct. 20- 21, 2000, with the theme "Establish Stable and Prosperous Asia- Europe Partnership in New Millennium."

The Fourth ASEM summit was convened in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Sept. 22-24, 2002, with the theme "Unity in Diversity".

The Fifth ASEM summit was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, Oct. 6-9, 2004, with the theme "Further Revitalize and Strengthen Asia- Europe Partnership."

The Sixth ASEM summit was held in Helsinki, Finland, Sept. 10- 11, 2006, under the theme "10 Years of ASEM: Global Challenges- Joint Responses."

The Seventh ASEM summit was held in Beijing on Oct. 24-25, 2008, under the theme "Dialogue and Cooperation: Mutual Benefit and Win- Win".

The Eighth ASEM summit was held in Brussels on Oct. 4-5, with the theme "Quality of Life: How to Ensure Prosperity and More Dignity for all Citizens."