Today, the EU and ASEAN opened a new chapter in their longstanding relationship by becoming Strategic Partners. This elevates their partnership with a commitment to regular summits at leaders’ level.

No country in the world is on track to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, despite significant progress in advancing women’s and girls’ rights over the years. Moreover, the health and socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis are disproportionately affecting women and girls. To address this, the EU put forward an ambitious Gender Action Plan to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment through all external action of the European Union.