Australia's development assistance advances our collective interests and tackles shared challenges – including climate change, advancing gender equality, inclusive, sustainable growth and fostering resilient communities. We are committed to upholding ASEAN centrality, including through our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, supporting the Mekong subregion and over $500 million in new ODA and non-ODA initiatives announced at the 2024 ASEAN-Australia Special Summit.
Australia's development cooperation in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, The Philippines, Timor-Leste and Vietnam tackles some of our region's most pressing priorities – inclusive economic growth, climate change and the clean energy transition, gender equality, and knowledge and skills development.
Further details are contained in the Southeast Asia Regional Development Cooperation Factsheet.
Regional program highlights
Aus4ASEAN Futures, the flagship ASEAN development program, is supporting over 35 projects, including to draft the ASEAN Strategy on Carbon Neutrality, progress the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), deliver an ASEAN Tariff Finder, provide technical support for the ASEAN Community Vision, and funding ($6.9m) ASEAN-Australia Energy Cooperation to support the ASEAN Power Grid.
Partnerships for Infrastructure (P4I) aims to bolster economic growth and resilience in Southeast Asia by supporting the development of quality infrastructure. P4I has facilitated 41 partnerships between Australian and Southeast Asian organisations on energy, transport, and telecommunications infrastructure development. These partnerships and P4I's broader cooperation with the region has contributed to 48 infrastructure decision-making and practice change outcomes and supported more than 9,500 infrastructure professionals from across the region to build their technical and policy expertise.
The Mekong-Australia Partnership (MAP) supports a resilient and inclusive Mekong subregion. Through MAP, Australia works with Mekong partners on water security and climate change resilience; countering transnational crime; economic resilience and subregional integration; leadership and skills; and inclusive development for a more equitable future. MAP is delivering 30 scholarships per year for Mekong scholars, and a $50 million portfolio of climate resilience activities including supporting biodiversity, climate-resilient agriculture and protecting livelihoods of remote communities impacted by climate chance. Through MAP, Australia is also working with local partners to help tackle transboundary challenges such as improving economic resilience and combatting transnational crime..
The Investing in Women program improves women's economic participation. Since 2016, Investing in Women has partnered with more than 188 companies, reaching over 1.1 million employees and mobilising over $290 million to support women-led businesses in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Myanmar.
The Southeast Asia and Australia Government Partnerships program (SEAG2G) is enabling 29 Australian government agencies to deepen and sustain partnerships with their counterpart agencies in Southeast Asia. Fifty-four partnerships are underway across all countries in Southeast Asia and ASEAN, in areas such as food security and innovations for sustainability, biosecurity, transnational education, competition and consumer protection, economic governance, energy, climate chance, social protection and human rights.
Our approach to regional development cooperation is outlined in the Southeast Asia Regional Development Partnership Plan.