1. The 2^nd ROK-Australia Senior Officials’ Policy Dialogue on Our Engagement with Southeast Asia and ASEAN was held via video conference on March 18, 2022 from 13:00 to 15:00. Ms. Eui-hae Cecilia Chung, Director-General for ASEAN and Southeast Asian Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the ROK, and Mr. Ray Marcelo, Acting First Assistant Secretary of the Southeast Asia Regional Division at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, headed their respective delegations at the dialogue.

* The ROK-Australia Policy Dialogue on Our Engagement with Southeast Asia and ASEAN was first launched back in February 2021 to explore opportunities for cooperation between the ROK and Australia in Southeast Asia.

2. Recalling that the leaders of the two countries reaffirmed their support for ASEAN Centrality and the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP) at the ROK-Australia summit held in December 2021, the two sides agreed to continue exploring opportunities for concrete cooperation in areas of mutual interest and in consideration of ASEAN’s priorities so as to create synergy between the ROK’s New Southern Policy and Australia’s Indo-Pacific approach.

o Amid the rising political and economic uncertainties resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, both sides shared the view that, as one of ASEAN's earlier dialogue partners, the two countries should work together not only in responding to challenges facing the region, including COVID-19, economic security and supply chain risks but also in strengthening the rules-based international order and promoting economic recovery and growth in the Indo-Pacific region.

3. The two sides also exchanged views on their respective policy priorities and some of the major on-going developments in the ASEAN region, including the situation in Myanmar.

o The ROK side explained that the ROK will continue to expand engagement with ASEAN given its strategic importance and build a stronger foundation for co-prosperity by cooperating in areas that reflect ASEAN’s needs such as human capital, health and medicine, culture and tourism, digital transformation, climate change, and maritime affairs.

o The Australian side explained that Australia was the first dialogue partner to upgrade its partnership with ASEAN to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2021, and that it has been expanding cooperation with ASEAN in priority areas including health security, energy security, climate change, maritime affairs, and circular economy based on the Australia for ASEAN Initiative.

o With regard to the situation in Myanmar, the two sides shared concerns about the deteriorating situation despite the international community’s continued efforts and agreed to closely work together so that the international community continues to send a clear message on the Myanmar situation.

4. On practical cooperation, the two sides shared best practices and experiences and discussed ways to expand cooperation in areas such as infrastructure and connectivity, economic recovery, cyber and digital innovation, and development cooperation as well as ways to promote sub-regional cooperation with Mekong and BIMP-EAGA countries.

o Both sides agreed to continue to collaborate for the final adoption of the EAS Leaders' Statement on Women's Economic Empowerment, which has been jointly proposed by the ROK, Australia and Cambodia (ASEAN Chair for 2022), at the upcoming East Asia Summit to be held in November this year.

o The two sides also agreed to discuss holding a ROK-Australia-ASEAN Forum on Maritime Connectivity in the ASEAN region later this year to enhance regional connectivity and revitalize investment in infrastructure for economic recovery.

o Furthermore, both sides agreed to work on concretizing cyber and digital cooperation by holding the ROK-Australia Cyber and Critical Technology Policy Dialogue based on the Memorandum of Understanding on Digital Cooperation Initiative in Southeast Asia, which was signed during last year's bilateral summit.

5. The ROK government has been strengthening cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region through the New Southern Policy based on the principles of openness, transparency, and inclusiveness and will continue its efforts to expand the scope of the New Southern Policy by seeking harmonious cooperation with countries such as Australia in implementing regional initiatives.