Hanoi – On June 3rd, 2025, the Hanoi Office of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), represented by Dr. Michele Boario, Programme Coordinator, took part in the international roundtable “Strategic Outlooks for the EU and ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific”, held at John Cabot University in Rome and organized with the contribution of Turin World Affairs Institute-T.wai.
The event brought together academics, experts, and institutional representatives from Europe and Asia to explore geopolitical dynamics and cooperation between the European Union and ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific region, continuing the dialogue launched during the conference “Indo-Pacific outlooks: implications for the EU-ASEAN relationship” at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
During the roundtable, Dr. Boario presented the paper “Italian Development Cooperation in ASEAN: A Strategic Partnership for Sustainable Growth”, which analyzes the objectives, approaches, opportunities, and challenges of Italian cooperation with ASEAN, particularly since Italy was granted the status of Development Partner in September 2020. The paper highlights Italy’s sectoral priorities, such as environmental protection, energy transition, circular economy, and sustainable agriculture—and underlines the country’s strategic role in promoting regional integration and advancing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
AICS Hanoi also illustrated how Italy, through a flexible and integrated bilateral approach aligned with the European framework, contributes to sustainable development in Southeast Asia by implementing innovative initiatives and methodologies. These are carried out through multi-level partnerships involving a wide range of institutional and non-institutional actors, operating across different levels of governance: local, national, regional, and international.
Finally, the paper provided an up-to-date overview of current initiatives, including support for the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) in Vietnam and Indonesia, regional projects developed in collaboration with Italian universities and research centers, and the growing coordination with EU programs under the Global Gateway strategy.
The Italian model of development cooperation—effective, adaptable, and capable of leveraging national expertise while addressing the complexity and diversity of the ASEAN context—was met with widespread appreciation from participants. In this perspective, the AICS Hanoi Office reaffirms its role as an increasingly strategic actor in the Indo-Pacific region, ready to face the pressing challenges that lie ahead.