On 23 January 2026, H.E. Ms. Tiffany McDonald, Ambassador of Australia to ASEAN, paid an introductory call on H.E. Ms. Prinat Apirat, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Thailand to ASEAN, at the Permanent Mission of Thailand to ASEAN in Jakarta.

Both sides exchanged views on ways to further enhance ASEAN-Australia cooperation in areas of mutual interest, including trade and investment, digital economy, public health, ageing societies, and efforts to combat transnational crime, particularly trafficking in persons and online scams. Ambassador McDonald reiterated Australia’s readiness to continue supporting ASEAN through the Fund under the Aus4ASEAN Futures Initiative.   

ASEAN and Australia established dialogue relations in 1974, elevated their partnership to a Strategic Partnership in 2014, and to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) in 2021. Both sides are commemorating the 5^th anniversary of the CSP this year.