ASEAN-GCC Preparatory Meeting Sets Stage For Second Summit With Key Documents In Progress

By N. Kuvineshwaren and Samantha Tan

KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 (Bernama) -- The ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Senior Officials’ (SOM) Preparatory Meeting convened today with two key documents currently being prepared for the upcoming second summit.

Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs at Philippine’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro said the meeting also discussed ways to deepen cooperation between the two important and strategically significant regions.

“Two documents are being prepared from today’s meeting, namely the outcome document for the second ASEAN-GCC Summit, and an economic declaration,” she told reporters after co-chairing the meeting with Kuwait, the current chair of the GCC, at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) here. 

Lazaro hinted that ASEAN and the GCC are set to unveil a significant broadening of their cooperation during the second summit.

The first ASEAN-GCC Summit was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in October 2023, where leaders endorsed the ASEAN-GCC Framework of Cooperation (2024–2028), marking a historic milestone in inter-regional relations.

The GCC, comprising six countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was founded in 1981 to foster political and economic cooperation among the Gulf countries. 

The second ASEAN-GCC will be held concurrently with the 46th ASEAN Summit and the inaugural ASEAN-GCC-China Summit on May 26 and 27 in the capital here, under Malaysia’s ASEAN 2025 Chairmanship.

With the theme ‘Inclusivity and Sustainability’, this 2025 edition will mark Malaysia’s fifth time chairing ASEAN, following previous terms in 1977, 1997, 2005 and 2015.

-- BERNAMA