ASEAN summit to go ahead in May, but shortened to 'bare bones' programme due to Middle East conflict


Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. addresses the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S., March 10, 2026. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

MANILA, March ⁠27 (Reuters) - Philippine President Ferdinand ⁠Marcos Jr. said on ‌Friday that the ASEAN Leaders' summit will go ahead in ​May, but will ⁠be shortened to ⁠a "bare-bones" programme that focuses on ⁠addressing ‌issues like fuel supplies, food ⁠prices and migrant workers.

Marcos said he ​has ‌consulted with his counterparts ⁠in the ​regional bloc and asked them whether they preferred ⁠to postpone the ​ASEAN summit due to the conflict in the Middle East.

"The ⁠consensus that we came to is that it is precisely now that ​we must ⁠coordinate our efforts," Marcos told ​reporters.

(Reporting by ‌Nestor Corrales, Mikhail Flores ​and Karen Lema; Editing by David Stanway)

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