The 2027 YSEALI Regional Workshop: Securing Supply Chains

Project Background, Goals, and Objectives

In an era of global disruption and rapid technological change, secure and resilient supply chains are more critical than ever. This workshop will bring together early-stage professionals from across Southeast Asia to explore how supply chains operate, the impact of advanced technologies, and the critical minerals that power modern economies. They will leave equipped with tools to increase advocacy efforts that support national-level policy, encouraging the expansion of U.S.- ASEAN commercial opportunities and prioritizing secure supply chains that strengthen U.S. – ASEAN economic and regional security.

Workshop Objectives

• Enhance understanding of supply chain fundamentals: Provide participants with a strong foundation in supply chain operations, including key actors, systems, and processes.

• Identify and analyze supply chain risks: Equip participants to recognize vulnerabilities such as cyber threats, illegal transshipment, geopolitical risks, and industrial overcapacity.

• Explore strategies for supply chain security and resilience: Introduce U.S. tools, frameworks, and best practices for strengthening supply chain resilience, including intellectual property protection, export controls, taxation, cybersecurity, and cross-border data flows.

• Introduce emerging technologies in trade and logistics: Familiarize participants with U.S.-led innovations such as digital tracking, blockchain, and artificial intelligence and their applications in improving supply chain security and efficiency.

• Highlight the importance of critical and rare earth minerals: Demonstrate how these minerals underpin advanced technologies and essential products, and how diversified processing and refining capabilities contribute to American and Southeast Asian prosperity and security.

• Foster regional collaboration and dialogue: Encourage early-stage professionals across Southeast Asia to share perspectives, develop joint strategies, and explore policy recommendations.

• Develop practical regional solutions: Engage participants in simulations and group activities that apply workshop concepts to real-world supply chain challenges, drawing on expertise from U.S. industry partners and case studies.

• Encourage participant-led innovation and action: Organize a business incubator competition that provides seed funding to innovative projects and initiatives that strengthen secure, resilient, and fair supply chains while expanding opportunities for U.S. trade, investment, and commercial partnerships across the ASEAN region.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and Surabaya, Indonesia, offer complementary, yet distinct, expertise that uniquely positions each location to host specialized workshop activities. Participants will engage in programming at both sites—beginning in Vietnam and concluding in Indonesia—gaining a rare, firsthand understanding of regional supply chain dynamics, economic priorities, and cross-border challenges. This immersive experience will equip participants with the broader regional perspective necessary to make informed decisions within the ASEAN context.

Ho Chi Minh City:

● Supply Chain Challenge Simulation: A team-based exercise where participants move goods from production to delivery while responding to realistic disruptions and crises.

● Expert Talks: Sessions with industry and policy experts on current trends, risks, and opportunities in supply chain security, followed by Q&A discussions.

● Case Study Lab – “When Supply Chains Break”: Participants analyze real-world supply chain disruptions, identify vulnerabilities, and propose resilience strategies.

● Regional Dialogue Roundtable: Interactive discussions where participants share country perspectives, regional challenges, and opportunities for cross-border cooperation.

● Site Visits: Tours of ports and/or technology and manufacturing hubs in Ho Chi Minh City to examine logistics operations and technological innovation firsthand.

Surabaya:

● Cybersecurity Skills Workshop: A hands-on session introducing U.S. tools and products for protecting critical infrastructure and logistics systems, including principles of zero-trust architecture.

● Business Incubator: This business incubator competition will provide seed funding to innovative projects and initiatives that strengthen secure, resilient, and fair supply chains while expanding opportunities for U.S. trade, investment, and commercial partnerships across the ASEAN region.

● Critical Minerals Workshop and Simulation: Participants examine the role of critical and rare earth minerals in supply chains and engage in industry-designed simulations involving sectors such as semiconductors, batteries, vehicles, computers, phones, and satellites.

● Field Excursion: Visits to a critical minerals smelter and processing facility to explore operational challenges and opportunities in the mining sector and their implications for supply chain security.

This program complements prior programs supporting Vietnam’s long-term logistics and supply chain development goals, as well as Mission Vietnam’s robust commercial diplomacy on behalf of American consumer and high-tech firms in Vietnam—the United States’ seventh-largest trading partner and largest in ASEAN. This program will also build on the success of previous Mission Indonesia cybersecurity speaker programs and a semiconductor supply chain security program that trained key interlocuters in developing protocols to protect critical infrastructure in the mining and digital sectors, expanded U.S.-Indonesia commercial cooperation in the semiconductor sector, and increased Indonesia’s capacity to contribute meaningfully to more secure semiconductor supply chains.

Project Audience(s):

The recipient will coordinate with U.S. Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City and U.S. Consulate General Surabaya and with the U.S. Embassies to ASEAN and in ASEAN member states to recruit and select up to 55 participants with specialized backgrounds. Participants must be registered YSEALI exchange alumni aged 22-35 who have leadership potential, a commitment to enhance U.S – ASEAN trade, and experience relevant to business, science, technology, critical minerals, logistics, or global trade. This program requires at least one year of professional work experience. Participants should demonstrate their leadership and readiness to enact commercial change in their home countries.

All participants must be proficient in written and spoken English. All programs must include participants from all eleven ASEAN member countries.

Participants will include YSEALI exchange alumni representing all 11 ASEAN member states from the U.S.-based YSEALI Professional and Academic Fellowship programs, YSEALI regional workshops, or YSEALI Seeds for the Future competition winners.

The recipient will be responsible for arranging and using cooperative agreement funds to cover all elements related to participant and staff travel including international and domestic flights, visas, travel to and from airports, accommodation, per diem, meals during the program, insurance, etc.

Project Goal:

Strengthen knowledge and capacity to identify, assess, and address supply chain vulnerabilities across critical industries throughout the ASEAN region.

Project Objectives:

● Objective 1: Strengthen the advocacy capacity of up to 55 well positioned early-stage leaders across 11 ASEAN countries to support national-level policy that encourages the expansion of U.S.- ASEAN commercial opportunities prioritizing secure and diversified supply chains strengthening U.S. – ASEAN economic and regional security.

● Objective 2: Provide seed funding for at least one organically generated project or initiative that strengthens secure, resilient, and fair supply chains while expanding opportunities for U.S. trade, investment, and commercial partnerships in the ASEAN region. Develop a backup slate of at least three prospective projects.

● Objective 3: Increase cross-sector knowledge sharing, coordination, and cooperation amongst ASEAN countries and the United States to address and respond to threats in supply chain security across critical industries by establishing coordinated communication channels with U.S. commercial entities and U.S. Embassies and Consulates in the region. Create professional advocacy groups that incorporate American private sector expertise; at least 75% of participants will demonstrate the ability to implement at least one new policy revision within a year of completion of the program.

Substantial Involvement

The U.S. Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City and U.S. Consulate General Surabaya will have substantial involvement in the development, content, and schedule of the workshop. In consultation with the coordinating U.S. Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City and U.S. Consulate General Surabaya, the award recipient must actively engage all relevant U.S. Embassies regarding the recruitment and selection processes as well manage communication with the participants.

Working closely with U.S. Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City and U.S. Consulate General Surabaya, the recipient of this cooperative agreement shall: develop a robust program for the workshop; schedule the workshop at mutually agreed upon locations; manage the participant application and selection process through a secure portal; develop the agenda and content for the workshop; recruit speaker(s); manage all travel logistics for participants and speakers; and generate content for social media and other publicity. The recipient will provide all design files, photos and video recorded, as well as production quality, U.S. Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City and U.S. Consulate General Surabaya approved, photo album and video series of the workshop after completion. Preference will be given to joint proposals that have a local partner in both Vietnam and Indonesia, but only one cooperative agreement will be awarded and managed out of U.S. Consulate Surabaya.

Regular, transparent communication via email, phone and video conference calls and face-to-face meetings (as appropriate) with the Grants Officer, Grants Officer Representative, and Program Officer throughout the period of performance is critical to the success of this cooperative agreement.

All major elements of the program and its content require advance approval by U.S. Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City and U.S. Consulate General Surabaya, including, but not limited to:

• Choices of dates, venue, accommodation, and menus;

• Final selection of participants, mentors, and speakers from the United States and ASEAN member states;

• Titles, format, and content of workshop sessions and other program activities;

• Design and content of all marketing materials, publicity, and media products.