JAKARTA, 25 March 2025 – ASEAN and the Republic of Korea (ROK) reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) at the 12th Meeting of the ASEAN-ROK Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC), held today at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat.
The Meeting acknowledged the good momentum of ASEAN-ROK cooperation following the establishment of the CSP in conjunction with the 35th Anniversary of Dialogue Relations in 2024. The ROK affirmed its continued support for ASEAN Community-building efforts and ASEAN Centrality, including through its participation in ASEAN-led mechanisms.
The Meeting welcomed the substantive progress made in various areas of cooperation under the ASEAN-ROK Plan of Action (POA) 2021-2025, including political and security cooperation, trade and investment, digital transformation, tourism, energy, environment, education, health, culture and information, youth and people-to-people exchanges, and disaster management. Both sides are also working closely on a successor POA to further advance the CSP in the next five years (2026-2030). The new POA is expected to be finalised for adoption by Foreign Ministers of both sides in July 2025.
The Meeting discussed ways to further substantiate cooperation under the ASEAN-ROK CSP, focusing on areas such as strengthening trade and investment through the implementation of the ASEAN-ROK FTA; digitalisation; connectivity; cyber security; clean energy; sustainable development; education; disaster management; environment and climate change; smart city; connectivity; culture and people-to-people exchanges. The Meeting noted the activities and contribution of the ASEAN-ROK Centre, which is based in Seoul, in promoting ASEAN-ROK cooperation in various areas.
Both sides agreed to continue to strengthen practical cooperation in the four priority areas under the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) in line with the Joint Statement on cooperation on the AOIP adopted at the 24th ASEAN-ROK Summit last year.
The Meeting was co-chaired by the Permanent Representative of Thailand to ASEAN, Ambassador Phantipha Iamsudha Ekarohit, and Ambassador of the ROK to ASEAN, Lee Jang-keun, and attended by Permanent Representatives of ASEAN Member States and the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Political-Security Community. Timor-Leste attended as Observer.