Background
The Southeast Asia Futures Initiative Centre (SEAFIC) is being established as a regional think tank dedicated to advancing forward-looking, evidence-based policy dialogue on Southeast Asia’s future. This exclusive soft launch marks the Centre’s inaugural policy dialogue, convening a select group of regional leaders and visionaries.
Our objective is to facilitate high-level exchange on the strategic complexities of ASEAN’s shifting geopolitical and geoeconomic landscape, ensuring the region is not merely reacting to the future, but actively shaping it. This includes examining ASEAN’s future strategic and geoeconomic pathways and fostering both cross-border and cross-sectoral regional relationships.
Session Brief
ASEAN is entering a consequential phase in its regional trajectory, shaped by intensifying geopolitical competition, supply chain reconfiguration, technological transformation, and global economic uncertainty. The region’s longstanding principles of neutrality and non-alignment are often cited as its greatest strategic assets, enabling ASEAN to remain open, stable, and commercially attractive amid great-power rivalry. In principle, a posture of strategic equidistance - combined with an emphasis on economic engagement - would create significant opportunities for growth and investment. However, the scale and complexity of contemporary geopolitical pressures suggest that neutrality alone is no longer sufficient to safeguard ASEAN’s long-term interests, security, and economic resilience.
With SEAFIC’s proposed coverage of mainly the Southeast Asian region, we are honoured to have H.E. Dr Kao Kim Hourn, the Secretary-General of ASEAN, deliver a brief recorded message as part of our official programme. This will be followed by a high-level discussion moderated by Ms Raline Rahmat Shah (a social good advocate and public figure in Indonesia) with the following panellists:
• H.E. Dyah Roro Esti Widya Putri (Deputy Minister of Trade, Indonesia)
• Prof. Danny Quah (Professor in Economics, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy)
• Mr. Arsjad Rashid (Chairman, Indonesia Business Council) and
• Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Aziz (Chairman, Malaysian Investment Development Authority and Chairman of SEAFIC)
Event Details & Programme
Date/ Time : Tuesday, 10 February 2026 | 10.30 AM – 12.30 PM (GMT+7)
Venue : East Ventures Capital, Sequis Tower 41F, Jl. Jend. Sudirman kav 52-53 No.71, Kota Jakarta Selatan, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 12190, Indonesia
