PM Wong to attend two-day ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will attend the 46th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit from Monday (May 26) to Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur.

The upcoming summit will be the first of two hosted by Malaysia as this year’s ASEAN chair.

A statement from Singapore’s Prime Minister’s Office on Sunday said the theme of this year’s summit – Inclusivity and Sustainability – underlines a “forward-looking agenda and priorities in building a united and resilient ASEAN amidst geopolitical and economic challenges”.

The leaders will reaffirm their commitment to ASEAN’s integration and community building efforts, as well as discuss ways to continue promoting “a free, open and inclusive regional architecture” within the 10-member bloc and with external partners, it added.

Talks will also touch on how to strengthen ASEAN’s resilience by making trade within the region more seamless and tapping new growth areas like the digital and green economies, the statement said.

In addition, Mr Wong and his counterparts are set to discuss ways to expand ASEAN’s engagement with external partners, especially with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and China at the ASEAN-GCC summit and the ASEAN-GCC-China summit on Tuesday.

The GCC has a membership of six Arab states, including major oil producers Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. The summit on Tuesday will be the second time leaders from both regions are meeting after the first ASEAN-GCC summit in 2023.

Both regional blocs will also have their first trilateral meeting with China, represented by Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

The two-day ASEAN summit is taking place amid an increasingly uncertain global economic and trade environment upended by United States President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.

Many of Southeast Asia’s trade-dependent economies were slapped with some of the harshest tariff rates first announced on Apr 2. These so-called  “reciprocal tariffs” have been paused for 90 days since Apr 9, but the threat of economic upheaval still looms over the region.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has called for a joint ASEAN action plan to address the growing tariff threat. Mr Anwar said at a pre-summit briefing that while bilateral talks between member states and the US would continue, the bloc must present a united front, according to a report by AFP.

For this trip, Mr Wong will be accompanied by his wife Ms Loo Tze Lui, as well as Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

In his absence, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong will be the Acting Prime Minister on May 25 and May 26.

Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam will be the Acting Prime Minister on May 27.