ASEAN Future Forum 2026 opens in Hanoi

The ASEAN Future Forum (AFF) 2026 officially opened in Ha Noi on June 9 under the theme “Shaping Our Future Together: Peace, Prosperity and People-Centred”.

Now in its third year, the forum has become an important platform for regional dialogue and cooperation, reaffirming Viet Nam’s proactive and responsible role in advancing ASEAN’s development agenda and regional connectivity.

Attending the opening ceremony were Viet Nam's Prime Minister Le Minh Hung, Prime Minister of Laos Sonexay Siphandone, Prime Minister of Cambodia Hun Manet, Prime Minister of Thailand Anutin Charnvirakul, Prime Minister of Timor-Leste Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao, Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung, and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn.

The ASEAN Future Forum was first introduced by Viet Nam at the 43rd ASEAN Summit as a multi-stakeholder, multi-level platform designed to complement existing ASEAN mechanisms and support long-term policy thinking for the ASEAN Community.

In his welcoming remarks, Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung said Viet Nam established the forum with the aim of creating an open, substantive and forward-looking space for dialogue among ASEAN member states and international partners.

He noted that the forum serves as a venue for policymakers, academics, businesses and citizens to contribute ideas and initiatives toward building a stronger, more resilient and more dynamic ASEAN Community.

According to the minister, the previous editions of the forum in 2024 and 2025 attracted broad participation and support from ASEAN countries and international partners, generating innovative yet practical proposals, many of which have since contributed to regional policy discussions and ASEAN’s long-term development agenda.

Against a backdrop of profound geopolitical shifts, growing strategic competition and rising security challenges, Viet Nam hopes the forum will create additional opportunities for diplomacy, dialogue, mutual understanding and cooperation.

AFF should be a forum truly belonging to ASEAN and an effective complementary channel supporting the ASEAN Community-building process, Trung said.

This year’s programme focuses on some of the most pressing issues facing ASEAN today and in the decades ahead. Discussions will cover topics ranging from strengthening unity, enhancing resilience and strategic autonomy, and conflict prevention to emerging issues such as growth model transformation, energy security, artificial intelligence and financial technology.

A notable feature of AFF 2026 is its broader and more inclusive participation. In addition to exchanges among government leaders, the forum will, for the first time, host meetings involving political parties from Southeast Asian countries, local authorities from across ASEAN, and representatives from the business, economic and academic communities.

Organisers expect these discussions to generate fresh perspectives and practical solutions that will contribute to implementing the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 while helping the bloc adapt to emerging regional and global challenges.

Following the opening remarks, delegates heard keynote addresses by Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and other ASEAN leaders, as well as a recorded message from ASEAN foreign ministers.