East Asia Forum

I just don't remember exactly where.

At the ASEAN, yeah, at the East Asia Forum.

Uh, so they have met quite sometimes.

And they're, each time they've met, they've taken stock of the situation.

They can also establish publicly verifiable, closed-loop water recycling systems and transparent e-waste containment standards, guaranteed through third-party environmental audits that involve civil society and faith leaders.

Writing in East Asia Forum, economist Bernard Villegas notes that the most common Fear is that the Philippines could become a mere resource platform that provides land, raw materials and low-cost labor without fundamentally transforming its productive capabilities by acquiring advanced technologies, higher skills or research, and inventive capacities.

To address this legitimate concern, Villegas writes that the government should present the initiative as one component of a broader industrial policy program that includes a focus on modernizing agriculture and agribusiness, and in manufacturing.

on higher-value electronics and semiconductor assembly, with gradual movement into design and testing of advanced and more complex devices.

These events demonstrate the Brazilian government's recent efforts to strengthen relations with ASEAN.

It is worth remembering that, in 2025, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made official visits to Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and attended the ASEAN Summit and East Asia Forum.

Clearly, Brazil has clearly developed a strong interest in ASEAN and Southeast Asia.

But why? It is possible to say that one of the main reasons for such mobilization is the search for new markets.