Southeast Asia—ASEAN-U.S. Partnership for Good Governance, Equitable and Sustainable Development and Security (U.S.-ASEAN PROGRESS)

Southeast Asia has transformed from a region of political strife and poverty to a region of economic progress and increasing democracy, capped by the Association of South East Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) ambitious plan for a fully integrated ASEAN community.

The ASEAN-U.S. Partnership for Good Governance, Equitable, and Sustainable Development and Security (PROGRESS) project seized this momentum and converged with the renewed U.S. focus on the region as a strategic economic and geopolitical partner. For ASEAN to achieve its own integration agenda and be a dynamic U.S. partner in regional and transnational challenges such as the fight against terrorism and the promotion of good governance and human rights, ASEAN must have the institutional capability to muster and enhance its ability for collective action. PROGRESS focused on strengthening institutions to advance ASEAN’s vision.

Sample Activities

• Help ASEAN strengthen linkages among its structures at the national and regional levels.
• Promote increased ASEAN engagement with the private sector, civil society, and the media.
• Support ASEAN institutions to better prepare for and respond to natural disasters.
• Strengthen institutions responsible for ensuring the promotion and protection of human rights and countering trafficking in persons.
• Work closely with ASEAN Secretariat’s Legal Service and Agreement Division to develop a practical system to report on the implementation of ASEAN agreements.
• Engage youth as future leaders who will bring together civil society and government officials to discuss pressing issues facing the region.
• Strengthen ASEAN judicial cooperation.
• Promote science-based decision making through a fellowship embedding early-career scientists in ministries of energy, agriculture, and science and technology.

Select Results

• Launched the ASEAN-U.S. Science and Technology Fellowship, which for the past three years has provided opportunities for early-career ASEAN scientists to network with one another and to contribute to policymaking in their home countries. To date, 35 Fellows have been placed in 20 line ministries across eight ASEAN countries.
• Developed the ASEAN Joint Disaster Response Plan, which lays the foundation for ASEAN coordination in response to natural disasters in the region.
• Engaged ASEAN youth through networking opportunities and creative social media and public outreach programs, such as the Annual ASEAN Youth Video Contest and the Regional Model ASEAN Meeting.
• Supported the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management to develop a regional Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Guideline.