ASEAN and the European Union held their 25th ministerial meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, on 27–28 April 2026, issuing a joint statement on cooperation ranging from security and the Indo-Pacific to human rights.
The meeting was co-chaired by Brunei’s Minister of Foreign Affairs II, Dato Erywan Pehin Yusof, and Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and a Vice-President of the European Commission, the joint statement said, cited by the Council of the EU.
Foreign ministers from ASEAN and EU member states attended, alongside representatives of the ASEAN Secretariat.
Ministers said they had reviewed progress under the ASEAN–EU Plan of Action for 2023–2027 and reaffirmed their Strategic Partnership.
They also declared that discussions included a possible proposal to convene an ASEAN–EU Commemorative Summit in 2027, when the two sides mark 50 years of dialogue relations.
Indo-Pacific cooperation and human rights
ASEAN said it noted the EU’s intention to establish an ASEAN–EU Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and both sides said they looked forward to further talks on that objective, according to the joint statement.
Ministers said the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific share principles focused on an “ASEAN-centred, open, inclusive” regional approach based on international law, and they expressed an intention to explore practical cooperation in four priority areas set out in the ASEAN outlook.
The EU’s efforts to align its Indo-Pacific strategy with ASEAN’s outlook were welcomed, including through the fourth EU–Indo Pacific Ministerial Forum held in Brussels on 21 November 2025.
The statement also referred to the sixth ASEAN–EU Policy Dialogue on Human Rights, held on 15 October 2025, and noted two ASEAN declarations adopted at the 47th ASEAN Summit — on the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and on promoting the right to development and the right to peace.
ASEAN encouraged the EU to support the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center, citing the impact of mines on human rights and the role of mine action in rehabilitation and sustainable development, according to the statement.
Ministers also welcomed the Philippines as ASEAN chair for 2026 and noted its theme and priorities, and they referenced the adoption of “ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future” at the 46th ASEAN Summit.
