JAKARTA, 27 March 2025 –The 4th ASEAN-United Kingdom Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) Meeting convened today at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat, reaffirmed a commitment to strengthening the ASEAN-UK Dialogue Partnership.
The Meeting noted the developments in ASEAN and the UK and welcomed Malaysia’s 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship theme of “Inclusivity and Sustainability”, along with its priorities and deliverables for the year. Updates were also shared on the implementation of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Work Plan IV, the ASEAN Smart Cities Network, and ASEAN’s efforts in sustainable development.
Both sides reviewed cooperation across the three ASEAN Community pillars and welcomed robust implementation of the ASEAN-United Kingdom Plan of Action (POA) (2022-2026). As 2026 marks the final implementation year of the current POA, ASEAN and the UK expressed their commitment to completing the remaining action lines to ensure it’s the full implementation of the POA, which would serve as a strong foundation in developing the successor document.
The Meeting welcomed the progress of the UK’s five flagship cooperation programmes with ASEAN and agreed to explore collaboration in areas such as maritime security; cybersecurity; trade and investment; economic integration; green finance; sustainable infrastructure; supply chain resilience; financial services; digital transformation; e-commerce, artifical intelligence, and financial technology.
The Meeting also agreed to enhance cooperation on climate change; renewable energy and energy transition; aging society, education and people-to-people contacts; health; women economic empowerment; science, technology and innovation; Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs); youth; cultural exchanges; connectivity; smart cities and the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI).
Both sides emphasised the importance of pursuing cooperation in the four priority areas outlined in the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), including through the implementation of the ASEAN-UK Joint Ministerial Statement on Connectivity.
Looking ahead to the fifth anniversary of the ASEAN-UK Dialogue Partnership in 2026, both sides looked forward to commemorate the occasion with meaningful activities.
The Meeting was co-chaired by the Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to ASEAN, Dr. Ton Thi Ngoc Huong, and UK Ambassador to ASEAN, Sarah Tiffin. It was attended by the Permanent Representatives to ASEAN or their representatives, the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Political-Security Community, and their respective delegations. Ambassador of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to ASEAN attended as observer.
