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'Building together a resilient, prosperous and secure future' - Chair's statement, EU—Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum, Brussels, 20-21 November 2025

European Council / Council of the European Union

International ministerial meetings
Press release
21 November 2025 14:35

Kaja Kallas, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, chaired the fourth EU-Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum in Brussels, on 20 and 21 November 2025. The Forum brought together around 70 delegations from the EU institutions and EU member states, as well as from countries and regional organisations from the Indo-Pacific region, spanning from the East coast of Africa to the Pacific Islands countries.

The EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum has become a unique platform for the EU and its member states to engage collectively with Indo-Pacific partners. It reflects a shared interest in fostering concrete cooperation on a region-to-region basis, enhancing mutual security, prosperity and resilience, and laying the foundations for an ever more ambitious partnership.

Amid geopolitical shifts and economic uncertainty, Europe and the Indo-Pacific find their futures increasingly intertwined. Recent challenges, from growing pressure on the multilateral system aggravated by Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine to the weaponisation of trade and technology and the accelerating climate crisis, are bringing the two regions closer together. In this context, they continue to rely on the rules-based international order, and the multilateral institutions which ensure compliance as well as accountability with agreed rules and norms.

EU and the Indo-Pacific partners are also facing increasingly complex security challenges, and the security of the Indo-Pacific and of Europe are more interlinked than ever. This calls for more cooperation and for common solutions in addressing global challenges.

During the Forum, participants focused on how to enhance cooperation and deepen solidarity in three parallel roundtables:

1. Security priorities in the face of current geopolitical developments.
2. Shared prosperity, economic security, and digital connectivity.
3. Common endeavours for a clean and sustainable future.

The Forum offered a good opportunity for the EU to highlight the concrete progress made in strengthening partnerships with Indo-Pacific countries and organisations since the previous Ministerial meeting in February 2024. This includes the Security and Defence Partnerships agreed with Japan and the Republic of Korea; the conclusion of negotiations on the EU-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement; the signature of the EU Clean Trade and Investment Partnership with South Africa; the EU financial and technical support to the ASEAN Power Grid development; the first-ever EU-Pacific Business Forum that unlocked nearly €300 million in new investments and budget support; as well as numerous other cooperation agreements and initiatives led by EU member states.

The EU will continue to invest in the Indo-Pacific on all fronts, building partnerships to match the realities of the 21st century. This sustained engagement promotes an international system based on multilateralism and on the rule of law.

By implementing the existing Security and Defence Partnerships and by continuing to expand such cooperation at bilateral and regional level we are determined to contribute further to the security and stability of the region. The roll-out of major Global Gateway investment projects showcases the concrete engagement of the EU and its Member States in support of sustainable, quality infrastructure. Through Free Trade Agreements, our preferential market access schemes, and Strategic Partnership Agreements the EU will continue to be a stable source of growth to countries along the entire value-chain.

A high-level event on the Protection of Critical Maritime Infrastructure took place in the margins of the Forum. The EU and the Indo-Pacific partners face similar challenges to the security of their critical infrastructure, including submarine cables, which calls for closer cooperation in this area. Participants explored how to make best use of all available tools and how to achieve concrete solutions in accordance with international law, in particular the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Given the shared interest in this topic, the EU will seek to establish a new structured initiative to enhance cooperation on the Protection of Critical Maritime Infrastructure among partners in Europe, in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.