Wilton Park,March 31 (AseanAll) — Senior Officials from ASEAN and the United Kingdom reaffirmed their commitment to advancing the ASEAN-UK Dialogue Partnership at the 5th ASEAN-UK Senior Officials’ Meeting (AUKSOM) held on March 31, 2026 at Wilton Park, United Kingdom.
The Meeting noted recent developments in ASEAN and the UK, and welcomed the UK’s commitment to supporting ASEAN’s priorities, including the Philippines’ 2026 ASEAN Chairship under the theme Navigating Our Future, Together, and the implementation of ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future.
ASEAN and the UK commended the near-complete implementation of the ASEAN-UK Plan of Action (POA) 2022-2026. As the current POA approaches its conclusion, both sides identified priority areas for future cooperation across the three ASEAN Community Pillars, which will contribute to the development of the successor POA.
Under the political-security pillar, both sides committed to enhancing cooperation on maritime security and cybersecurity, countering transnational crime and terrorism, and advancing Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agendas. Under the economic pillar, ASEAN and the UK agreed to deepen cooperation on digital economy, artificial intelligence (AI), green finance, supply chain resilience, energy transition, and women’s economic empowerment. Under the socio-cultural pillar, both sides agree to strengthen cooperation in education, climate change mitigation, health, disaster risk reduction, and people-to-people exchanges. They also exchanged views on cross-pillar cooperation in Connectivity, smart cities, and sustainable developments.
ASEAN and the UK reaffirmed their commitment to multilateralism and the ASEAN-led regional architecture, and look forward to the adoption of the ASEAN-UK Joint Ministerial Statement on the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) later this year.
As the ASEAN-UK Dialogue Partnership marks its fifth anniversary this year, the 5th AUKSOM featured an expanded programme, including an ASEAN-UK cultural and creative cooperation showcase, as well as Track 1.5 dialogue sessions on: (i) geoeconomics and multilateralism, (ii) maritime cooperation, (iii) AI governance, and (iv) a conversation with ASEAN Chevening Scholars on the future of ASEAN-UK relations.
The 5th AUKSOM was co-chaired by H.E. Christina Scott, the UK’s Senior Official to ASEAN and Director General Network, and H.E. Dang Hoang Giang, Deputy Foreign Minister and ASEAN SOM Leader of Viet Nam. The Meeting was attended by ASEAN SOM Leaders or their representatives, the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for the ASEAN Political-Security Community, and officials from both ASEAN and the UK.
