ASEAN Secretary-General Dr Kao Kim Hourn underscored the importance of co-creation, resilience, and innovation in strengthening ASEAN–Japan economic cooperation at a symposium in Jakarta.
Jakarta, Indonesia, 12 November 2025 — Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr Kao Kim Hourn delivered the keynote address at the ASEAN–Japan Symposium: Co-creation in an Era of Geoeconomics, held in Jakarta. The symposium brought together policymakers, scholars, and business leaders to discuss strategies for advancing ASEAN–Japan economic cooperation amid evolving global challenges.
In his remarks, Dr Kao emphasised that co-creation — through trust, collaboration, and shared purpose — is essential in navigating today’s complex economic landscape marked by shifting supply chains, technological disruption, and geopolitical uncertainty. He highlighted that ASEAN and Japan’s five-decade partnership serves as a foundation for building a resilient, sustainable, and forward-looking regional economy.
Image by: The ASEAN Secretary
Dr Kao outlined three key priorities for strengthening ASEAN–Japan cooperation: enhancing supply chain resilience, accelerating digital transformation, and promoting sustainability. These areas, he noted, will be critical in ensuring both partners remain competitive and adaptable as the world enters a new era of interdependence and economic reordering.
The Secretary-General also reflected on ASEAN’s strong economic performance, citing growth projections of 4.2 per cent for 2025 and rising foreign direct investment inflows, making ASEAN the world’s fourth-largest economy. He attributed this success to ASEAN’s collective response to global uncertainties and its ongoing efforts to modernise trade frameworks, such as the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement and ASEAN Plus One Free Trade Agreements.
Organised jointly by the Mission of Japan to ASEAN, the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI), and the Japan–ASEAN Integration Fund Management Team, the symposium reaffirmed ASEAN and Japan’s shared commitment to building a stable, inclusive, and sustainable Indo-Pacific region through economic collaboration and innovation.
Source: The ASEAN Secretary
