In the 2024 ASEAN leaders’ Declaration on Regional Biosafety and Biosecurity, ASEAN member states (AMS) made a collective call for the need to “ensure the provision of necessary human resources for biosafety and biosecurity in a sustainable manner through training, education and certification for all relevant personnel”. This new declaration from the ASEAN leaders demonstrates the increasing importance of strengthening biosecurity, together with biosafety, in Southeast Asia.