KUALA Lumpur has launched high-level preparatory meetings ahead of the 47th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits, scheduled from 26 to 28 October at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
The Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) and associated sessions commenced today and will continue until the afternoon, setting the stage for ministerial engagements starting Friday, prior to the official opening by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, ASEAN Chair for 2025.
The meetings include the ASEAN Committee of Permanent Representatives (CPR), attended by Timor-Leste’s Ambassador to ASEAN, Natercia Cipriana Coelho da Silva, and ASEAN Political-Security Community Deputy Secretary-General Datuk Astanah Abdul Aziz.
The CPR will assess progress across ASEAN’s three pillars—political-security, economic, and socio-cultural—and coordinate outcomes for adoption during the summit week.
Later sessions will feature the Joint SOM-SEOM (Senior Officials Meeting–Senior Economic Officials Meeting) and a dinner hosted by Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry Secretary-General and SOM Leader Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin, with attendees including ASEAN SOM leaders, Timor-Leste representatives, and ASEAN’s Deputy Secretary-General for Political-Security Community.
Themed “Inclusivity and Sustainability,” the 47th ASEAN Summit is anticipated to be among the largest in the bloc’s history, providing a vital platform to bolster regional cooperation and jointly address regional and global challenges.
A key moment will be Timor-Leste’s expected accession as ASEAN’s 11th member on 26 October.
Malaysia hosts the summit amid ongoing global economic disruptions, including US-imposed tariffs.
The event will also encompass the 26th ASEAN Economic Community Council meeting, during which officials will review the AEC 2025 Blueprint focused on enhanced connectivity, sectoral collaboration, people-centred community building, and regional integration into the global economy.
Senior economic officials and experts from ASEAN states will convene for the ASEAN Geoeconomics Task Force (AGTF) Experts+4 meeting, joined by research bodies such as the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and Boston Consulting Group. Discussions will concentrate on strategies to address escalating geo-economic challenges and tariff issues worldwide.
In addition to ASEAN leaders, about 30 prominent global figures are expected, including 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, European Union President Antonio Costa, and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
This marks Malaysia’s fifth time chairing ASEAN since its founding in 1967, having previously held the role in 2015, 2005, 1997, and 1977. October 23, 2025
