ASEAN and France agreed to widen their cooperation into new areas, including online scams and green finance, as the two sides took stock of a partnership roadmap that runs out next year. France also committed fresh funding to keep it moving.
At the Sixth ASEAN-France Development Partnership Committee meeting, held at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, France pledged an additional €1 million to the ASEAN-France Fund in 2026. The money will support the ongoing Practical Cooperation Areas (PCA) for 2022-2027, as well as new initiatives.
The meeting was co-chaired by Dato’ Astanah Abdul Aziz, ASEAN’s Deputy Secretary-General for the Political-Security Community, and Fabien Penone, France’s Ambassador to ASEAN. Members of ASEAN’s Committee of Permanent Representatives, along with French and Secretariat officials, also took part.
Delegates welcomed progress since the last meeting across a broad set of areas. These include renewable energy and regional energy connectivity, with support for the ASEAN Power Grid, as well as food security, forest fire and haze management, disaster response, public health and air quality.
ASEAN and France reaffirmed their shared commitment to deepening their development partnership and advancing practical cooperation that brings tangible benefits to their peoples at the Sixth ASEAN-France Development Partnership Committee (AF-DPC) Meeting, held on 4 November 2026, at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta.
The Meeting noted key developments in ASEAN, including the outcomes of the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu and the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila. France shared updates on its engagement with ASEAN, Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific, as well as its perspectives on regional and international developments.
The Meeting commended the encouraging progress in the implementation of the ASEAN-France Practical Cooperation Areas (PCA) (2022-2027) since the last AF-DPC Meeting. Cooperation has advanced in renewable energy and regional energy connectivity, including support for the ASEAN Power Grid, as well as in food security, forest fire and transboundary haze management, disaster management, public health, air quality, capacity-building, education, provision of scholarships, people-to-people exchanges including through possible visits, and the creative economy. The Meeting encouraged both sides to sustain this momentum and develop concrete initiatives to address remaining action lines, including peace and reconciliation, cybersecurity, combatting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and information and communication technology, smart cities and narrowing the development gap.
Looking ahead, the Meeting discussed opportunities to strengthen cooperation in combatting transnational crime, including online scam, technical and vocational education and training, digital, green finance, the circular and blue economies, climate change and environmental protection, sustainable tourism, cultural heritage protection and maximising the synergy between the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and France’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, particularly on maritime cooperation, Connectivity and sustainable development.
The Meeting welcomed France’s commitment to contribute a further EUR 1 million to the ASEAN-France Fund in 2026 to advance implementation of the PCA (2022–2027) and support ongoing and new cooperation initiatives.
The 6th AF-DPC Meeting was co-Chaired by H.E. Dato’ Astanah Abdul Aziz, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Political-Security Community, and H.E. Fabien Penone, Ambassador of France to ASEAN. Members of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR), or their representatives, as well as officials from France and the ASEAN Secretariat, also attended the Meeting.
— ASEAN (@ASEAN) November 5, 2026
Cooperation has also advanced in education and scholarships, people-to-people exchanges and the creative economy. Several action lines still need concrete projects, however. Participants urged both sides to keep up momentum on peace and reconciliation, cybersecurity, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, information and communication technology, smart cities and efforts to narrow the development gap among ASEAN members.
Looking ahead, the two sides explored new territory: combatting transnational crime, with online scams singled out, as well as technical and vocational education and training, and digital and green finance.
They also discussed the circular and blue economies, climate change and environmental protection, sustainable tourism and cultural heritage protection.
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A recurring theme was aligning strategy. Delegates discussed how to maximize the synergy between the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific and France’s own Indo-Pacific Strategy, particularly on maritime cooperation, connectivity and sustainable development.
The meeting also covered the wider regional picture. ASEAN briefed France on the outcomes of the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu and the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Manila, while France shared updates on its engagement with ASEAN, Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific, along with its views on regional and global developments.
With the current PCA framework due to conclude in 2027, the discussions on new priorities suggest both sides are already weighing what a successor arrangement might cover.
