THE government has approved RM926.187 million to manage the organisation of its ASEAN 2025 Chairmanship, covering 326 meetings across the year that span the three core pillars of regional cooperation.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan noted that annual expenditure accounts remain open as ASEAN meetings will continue until the end of December 2025.
“For the Ministry of Foreign Affairs alone, the allocation is RM560 million. Many of the meetings involve top-level, head-of-state discussions.
“The overall budget has been allocated across all three pillars – political-security, economic, and socio-cultural,” he said during a parliamentary oral question session in the Dewan Negara.
Responding to Senator Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz’s inquiry regarding the costs of hosting the 47th ASEAN Summit and measures to ensure fiscal prudence and economic returns, Mohamad highlighted Malaysia’s historic achievements during its chairmanship.
The country successfully hosted the ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit and the ASEAN-GCC-China Summit, a feat unprecedented for a chair nation, given the strategic strengths of these three blocs in natural resources, capital, and market size.
He emphasised Malaysia’s priority to boost intra-ASEAN trade, which currently remains below 25 per cent, as a way to reduce reliance on traditional markets.
“So, our priority now is how to further increase trade between ASEAN countries because trade within ASEAN is not even 25 per cent of ASEAN countries’ trade. This is what we aim to achieve. We hope to increase it to 30 per cent within the next five years,” he said.
On economic returns from hosting, Mohamad clarified that ASEAN summits differ from competitive bidding events like sports tournaments; they are periodic mandates that deliver long-term benefits through policy decisions, official documents, and the strengthening of the 700-million-strong ASEAN bloc.
In terms of geopolitical success, the Foreign Minister underlined Malaysia’s achievement in advancing inclusivity by welcoming Timor-Leste as ASEAN’s 11th member after decades of anticipation, citing consistent diplomatic efforts as key to this milestone. - December 2, 2025
