From 4-6 March 2024 Melbourne, Australia will host the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN Special Summit – a historical event celebrating Australia’s 50th Anniversary of ASEAN’s first Dialogue Relations partner, (since 1974).

The ASEAN Special Summit is a bi-annual event that comes at a significant and timely moment requiring increasing regional diplomacy. Approximately nine of the eleven Member States from across South-East Asia – heavyweight leaders such as Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Timor-Leste, etc – will converge on Melbourne… and we are getting excited!

It’s a chance not only for Australian government leaders to flex their voices but also for local City of Melbourne council and affiliated advisory groups, regional experts, community leaders, businesses, entrepreneurs, and alumni networks. A lot to unpack in such a short time. So, get your skates on and sign up for affiliated celebratory events.

This Special Summit will focus on food security, energy transition, climate change, the green and digital economies, enhancing maritime cooperation, and sustaining a modern, inclusive, peaceful, prosperous, and resilient region.

ASEAN provides a platform for a greater collective voice on the global stage in collaboration with major powers such as the US, China, Japan, and India.

While Australia is not a Member State of ASEAN, it plays an important role in regional negotiations and stability. It is also a prominent trading and investment partner providing technical and financial assistance to support ASEAN’s initiatives in areas of renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and disaster risk reduction, supporting ASEAN’s climate change collaborations to enhance climate change resilience and mitigation efforts. Australia’s expertise in climate change research, technology, and policy contributes to ASEAN’s capacity-building efforts.

Through major ASEAN-led arrangements, such as the East Asia Summit, ASEAN Regional Forum, and ASEAN-Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus, Australia collaborates closely on the region’s trade and economic agenda, and strongly supports the principles of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) and are committed to supporting its implementation.

ASEAN is a key trading partner for Australia. In 2022, Australia’s two-way trade with ASEAN nations amounted to around $178 billion – greater than our two-way trade with Japan, the United States, or the EU. Our two-way investment with ASEAN in 2022 was $289.7 billion. (DFAT)

In 2023 the Australian government launched the Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, developed by Mr Nicholas Moore AO, Special Envoy for Southeast Asia, to deepen Australia’s economic engagement with our Southeast Asia region and to ensure our mutually shared future prosperity.

The three government initiatives announced were Investment Deal Teams ($70.2 million over four years) which will be based in the ASEAN region and will work with Australian investors, Southeast Asian businesses, and governments to identify and facilitate investment opportunities: Southeast Asia Business Exchange ($19.2 million over four years) to boost two-way trade and support Australian exporters to enter, compete and grow in the fast-growing markets of Southeast Asia. This will include a trade and investment campaign to promote opportunities in Southeast Asian markets to Australian businesses and consumers; and a Placements and Internships Pilot Program for Young Professionals ($6 million over four years) which will help to build enduring links between Australia and Southeast Asian businesses.

Will Nankervis is the Ambassador of the Australian mission to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta.