1. The 32nd ASEAN-Australia Forum was held via videoconference on 18 May 2020 to discuss the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and our shared commitment to advancing the ASEAN-Australia Strategic Partnership. At a time of global uncertainty, continued cooperation between ASEAN and Australia to promote an open, stable and prosperous region remains vital. In this context, the Forum welcomed the cooperation between ASEAN and Australia on COVID-19 and looked forward to the convening of an ad hoc ASEAN-Australia Foreign Ministers’ video conference on COVID19 in the near future.
2. The Forum was co-chaired by H.E. Dato’ Ahmad Rozian Abd Ghani, Director-General, ASEAN-Malaysia National Secretariat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia; and Mr Justin Hayhurst, Australian ASEAN Senior Official and Acting Deputy Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia. Representatives from the ASEAN Member States (AMS), Australia and the ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC) participated in the meeting. Australia thanked Malaysia for its ongoing efforts as the Country Coordinator for ASEAN-Australia Dialogue Relations for 2018-2021, and expressed support for Vietnam’s ASEAN Chair theme of a “Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN” in 2020.
Download the full statement here.
