The ASEAN Committee in Rabat (ACR) participated in a roundtable discussion co-organized by the Ecole Supérieure du Commerce et des Affaires (ESCA) School of Management, a premier private business school Morocco, and Atlantis Center for Geostrategic Research and Studies, a private think-tank organization on 24 February 2023.

Experts from ASEAN namely Mr. Tan Sri Mohamed Jawhar Hassan, Senior Advisor of the Asia-Europe Institute and former Chairman and Chief Executive of the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia, and Dr. Yayan G.H. Mulyana, Head of Foreign Policy Strategy Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, discussed the politico-security dimension and business and economic imperatives of ASEAN highlighting the circumstances and geopolitical issues that led to the establishment of the regional grouping, the evolution and expansion of ASEAN membership, the security issues and challenges facing the region today, and the efforts of ASEAN member-states to have an economic community that is highly competitive, with equitable economic development, and fully integrated into the global economy. 

The lectures were followed by a question and answer session where topics and issues such as territorial disputes among AMS and conflict-resolution mechanisms adopted by the regional group, the military coup in Myanmar, US-China trade war, Russo-Ukrainian war, and ASEAN centrality were discussed by the participants. 

The roundtable discussion, held at the ESCA campus in Casablanca on 23 February 2023, served as an opportunity to have an open dialogue among relevant stakeholders and to promote ASEAN as a model of regional integration for African countries.