ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA — ASEAN and Australia have reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening regional cooperation by convening the inaugural ASEAN-Australia Track 1.5 Dialogue and the 2026 Aus4ASEAN Alumni Dialogue in Jakarta, marking the fifth anniversary of the ASEAN-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The Track 1.5 Dialogue gathered senior policymakers, diplomats, academics and civil society representatives to exchange views on the future of ASEAN-Australia relations amid an increasingly complex geopolitical and economic landscape in the Indo-Pacific.
Former Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, who now serves as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Water, delivered the keynote address, highlighting the importance of sustained regional leadership and multilateral cooperation in addressing transnational challenges.
Australian Ambassador to ASEAN Tiffany McDonald said the dialogue was designed to generate practical ideas that would strengthen cooperation across Southeast Asia and Australia.
“By bringing together influential regional voices, we are generating ideas that support practical cooperation across our region,” McDonald said.
“Through the ASEAN-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, we are working together to shape the rules, norms and relationships that underpin our collective resilience today and into the future.”
More than 75 alumni from ASEAN-Australia programs also participated in the 2026 Aus4ASEAN Alumni Dialogue, where ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn delivered the keynote speech. Participants discussed efforts to advance the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific while ensuring that younger generations play a greater role in shaping regional policy discussions.
Indonesian alumna Elnaya Mahadevi Pillian said the forum demonstrated how education, professional networks and collaboration can contribute to a stronger and more sustainable ASEAN-Australia partnership.
The back-to-back meetings underscored the growing emphasis both ASEAN and Australia place on strengthening regional resilience through deeper institutional cooperation, people-to-people connectivity and youth leadership, as strategic competition and economic uncertainty continue to reshape the Indo-Pacific. (AT Network)
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