Held under Malaysia’s 2025 Asean Chairmanship themed "Inclusivity and Sustainability”, the two-day summit embodied the spirit of Asean’s collective aspirations, he said.
Kao highlighted the "twin successes” of the summit - the launch of the Asean Community Vision 2045 with four strategic plans, and the consensus to admit Timor-Leste as Asean’s 11th full member, with formal induction expected at the October summit.
"Leaders reached consensus on Timor-Leste’s full membership during the summit’s retreat session,” he said, noting that a dedicated Timor-Leste unit has been established within the Asean Secretariat to support the accession process.
He made the remarks during a briefing on the summit’s outcomes-including the 2nd Asean-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit and the Asean-GCC-China Summit-attended by the diplomatic corps and media at the Asean Headquarters.
Reflecting on the overall outcome, Kao said the summit was successful in terms of participation, substance, and organisation, achieving its intended goals, with a total of 22 outcome documents adopted during the summits.
On internal challenges, Kao said Asean leaders engaged in "frank and candid” discussions, particularly regarding the crisis in Myanmar and regional economic pressures.
"External meetings with China and the GCC also emphasised trust-building both within the region and with external partners,” he stressed.
On Myanmar, he said leaders reaffirmed the validity of the five-point consensus and noted growing support for appointing a long-term special envoy to step up diplomatic efforts amid ongoing violence and humanitarian concerns.
On impact of US tariffs, Kao said Asean countries face serious economic disruption but have agreed not to retaliate, instead opting for cooperative negotiations with Washington.
He added that the bloc plans to upgrade its free trade agreements with South Korea, explore a potential region-to-region free trade agreement with the GCC.
At the Asean-GCC meeting, Kao both sides agreed to deepen co-operation in areas such as trade, investment, tourism, air connectivity, people-to-people exchange, and energy transition as well as discuss the Palestine and Gaza issues.
The inaugural Asean-GCC-China Summit was also held, where leaders underscored the importance of a rules-based multilateral trading system and explored synergies in trade, energy, and technology.
When asked about the possibility of Papua New Guinea (PNG) joining Asean following Indonesia’s expressed support, Kao stated that although the matter was brought up, there has been no formal discussion among Asean member states to date.
"That is something that our officials would need to look into,” he said, adding that consensus among all current members would be necessary for PNG to join. - Bernama
