Asian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need to raise their awareness of sustainable growth, an EU official said Wednesday, calling for cooperation between the EU and Asian countries.

"Sustainable development is a shared issue for countries all over the world," Thomas Wiley, head of section of Directorate D2 of EuropeAid Cooperation Office of the European Commission, said at a networking meeting of the SWITCH-Asia program.

The program, started in 2007 with a budget of 90 million euros (125.2 million U.S. dollars) for a period of four years, focuses in particular on production performance of SMEs.

"The expectation from the program is that it will influence in a positive way the take-up of existing techniques for more sustainable production, and also increase the awareness of individual consumers and companies of the advantages and benefits of sustainable consumption and production," Wiley said.

Wiley said environmental problems such as overuse of natural resources and unsustainable production of certain types of products are problems shared by both Europe and Asia.

"The EU feels that it has gained much knowledge and experience in the implementation of environmental regulations and techniques. The reason why the EU funds a project in this field is partly to help Asian countries, but partly because the benefits will be felt in Europe as well," Wiley said.