KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan has hosted a welcoming dinner for his counterparts from all Asean member states, Timor Leste, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, and China.
The dinner, also attended by Asean secretary-general Dr Kao Kim Hourn and GCC secretary-general Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, was held at Tower 2, Petronas Twin Towers.
Also present were senior officials from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Timor-Leste, and the six GCC countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
After the dinner, Mohamad held a bilateral meeting with his Singaporean counterpart, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, who arrived in the Malaysian capital in the morning to attend the 46th Asean Summit set to take place next week.
The 46th Asean Summit and its related meetings, under Malaysia's 2025 chairmanship theme "Inclusivity and Sustainability", are expected to address a wide range of pressing regional and international issues, with the ongoing crisis in Myanmar remaining a key point of concern for Asean member states.
This year marks Malaysia's fifth time chairing the regional bloc since its previous chairmanships in 1977, 1997, 2005, and 2015.
In addition to the Asean-level meetings, the summit will feature two important inter-regional platforms: the 2nd Asean-GCC Summit and the Asean-GCC-China Summit, signalling growing engagement between Southeast Asia and its strategic partners in the Gulf and China. – Bernama
