KUALA LUMPUR: The Asean Senior Officials’ Meetings (SOM) and related preparatory sessions kick off on Thursday (Oct 23), setting the stage for the 47th Asean Summit and Related Summits to be held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre here from Oct 26 to 28.
These sessions, scheduled until evening, will pave the way for high-level ministerial engagements beginning Friday (Oct 24), leading up to the opening ceremony, to be officiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as Chair of Asean 2025.
Running concurrently is the meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR) to Asean, to be attended by the Ambassador of Timor-Leste to ASEAN, Natércia Cipriana Coelho da Silva, and the Deputy Secretary-General of the Asean Political-Security Community (APSC), Datuk Astanah Abdul Aziz.
The CPR meeting will review progress across Asean's political-security, economic, and socio-cultural pillars while aligning deliverables for adoption during the summit week.
Meanwhile, the evening session will convene with the Asean Joint SOM-SEOM (Senior Economic Officials Meeting) and a welcome dinner for Asean SOM Leaders, Timor-Leste SOM Leader and ASEAN DSG APSC hosted by the Foreign Ministries Secretary-General cum Asean SOM Leader of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin.
Under Malaysia’s 2025 Asean Chairmanship theme of 'Inclusivity and Sustainability', the 47th Asean Summit and Related Summits is set to be one of the largest meetings in the bloc’s history, serving as a crucial platform to foster deeper collaboration while addressing regional and global challenges in a cohesive and inclusive manner.
The event will also see Timor-Leste’s active participation towards its accession as the 11th member of Asean, which is expected to be announced on Oct 26.
Malaysia’s hosting of the Asean Summit and related meetings comes at a time when the global economy is being severely impacted by debilitating tariffs imposed by the United States.
These meetings include the 26th Asean Economic Community (AEC) Council Meeting, where officials would delve into the AEC Blueprint 2025, focusing on enhanced connectivity, sectoral cooperation, people-centred community and the region’s integration into the global economy.
In addition, senior economic officials and experts from member states are expected to gather for the Asean Geoeconomics Task Force (AGTF) Experts+4 Meeting, which includes the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia, the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the Boston Consulting Group, to discuss strategies to navigate intensifying global geoeconomic challenges and tariff issues.
Besides Asean leaders, US President Donald Trump, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the European Union President Antonio Costa, and Japan’s first-ever female Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi are among the over 20 world leaders scheduled to converge in the Malaysian capital.
This is the fifth time Malaysia has assumed the Asean Chair since the bloc’s inception in 1967, with the previous chairmanships in 2015, 2005, 1997 and 1977.- Bernama
