KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia, as the 2025 ASEAN Chair, is still awaiting confirmation from the United States (US) on the proposed date for the ASEAN-US Special Summit, said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
He said the initiative was formally proposed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who requested that the summit be held sometime this year.
“We are still awaiting a response from the US. Hopefully, we can get the good news and have the ASEAN-US Special Summit,” he told a press conference today ahead of the 46th ASEAN Summit tomorrow.
On April 5, Mohamad said he received a phone call from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss, among other things, the Malaysia-US bilateral relations under the Comprehensive Cooperation Framework.
He said both sides also discussed and planned a suitable date to hold the ASEAN-US Special Summit in conjunction with Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship this year.
The 46th ASEAN Summit and its related meetings, held under Malaysia’s 2025 Chairmanship themed ‘Inclusivity and Sustainability’, are expected to address a broad range of pressing regional and international issues, with the ongoing crisis in Myanmar remaining a central concern for ASEAN member states.
This year marks Malaysia’s fifth time chairing the regional organisation, following previous terms in 1977, 1997, 2005 and 2015.
Besides the ASEAN-level meetings, two key inter-regional summits — the 2nd ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit and the ASEAN-GCC-China Summit — will also take place on May 26 and 27, signalling the growing engagement between Southeast Asia and its strategic partners in the Gulf and China.
