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[KUALA LUMPUR] Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong is leading a delegation to Malaysia’s capital for a major summit of Asean leaders, which is shaping up to be one of the bloc’s most high-profile gatherings in recent years. Several world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, are expected to attend talks on economic integration and regional stability.

PM Wong, who is also finance minister, will be in Kuala Lumpur from Sunday (Oct 26) to Tuesday for the 47th Asean Summit and related summits.

The biannual meeting will also see the inclusion of Timor-Leste as the regional bloc’s 11th member – a milestone achieved in part through Singapore’s support in helping South-east Asia’s youngest nation meet the requirements to join key Asean economic agreements.

He will also participate in the 5th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit, which seeks to reaffirm the RCEP’s role in strengthening regional trade and economic integration amid global challenges.

PM Wong will be accompanied by his wife Loo Tze Lui and Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan.

In a statement on Saturday, the Prime Minister’s Office said PM Wong is expected to meet leaders from key partners such as Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the US and the United Nations.

The statement added that under Malaysia’s year-long chairmanship, Asean leaders will “reaffirm their commitment to Asean’s community-building efforts and discuss ways to promote an open, inclusive and stable regional architecture”.

They are also expected to discuss strengthening the bloc’s economic integration by tapping emerging areas in the digital and green economies, such as the Asean Power Grid, as well as enhancing intra-Asean trade.

This includes the recent upgrade of two major trade pacts – Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (Atiga) and Asean-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) 3.0 – which was announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong on Friday after the 26th Asean Economic Community Council meeting.

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DPM Gan said Atiga is one of the “most important economic agreements among Asean countries”, as it not only facilitates trade in goods and reduces tariffs, but also removes or eases non-tariff barriers to improve trade flows and streamline customs procedures.

He added that it also signals to the rest of the world that “despite the very challenging global environment, Asean has made up our minds that we are determined to continue to strengthen our Asean integration and cooperation”.

On ACFTA, which strengthens the bloc’s trade relationship with its largest trading partner by incorporating provisions on the digital and green economy, DPM Gan said the upgrade reflects Asean’s intent to look beyond internal integration and deepen its engagement with global partners.

Negotiations for both Atiga and ACFTA 3.0 were concluded at the 46th Asean Summit in May, which was likewise held in Kuala Lumpur.

DPM Gan also said that a substantial conclusion on the Digital Economy Framework Agreement has been achieved, with the next stage focused on finalising the pact – which aims to make the region’s diverse digital economies more interoperable through common rules and standards – for signing by next year.

Spotlight on global leaders and regional tensions

Of note at the summit is the anticipated presence of Trump, with Malaysian officials confirming his attendance earlier this week.

Among his many engagements, the US leader is expected to witness the signing of a peace deal between Cambodia and Thailand on the sidelines of the summit.  

This comes after tensions over undemarcated points on the two nations’ 817 km land border erupted into a deadly five-day conflict on Jul 24, killing at least 48 people and temporarily displacing hundreds of thousands in their worst fighting in more than a decade. 

Malaysia brokered an initial ceasefire on Jul 28 that ended the clashes after a sustained peace push by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and telephone calls by Trump to leaders of both nations.

Trump’s trip would mark the first visit by a US president to Malaysia in nearly a decade, the last being by Barack Obama in 2015. 

It would also be his first attendance at the Asean Summit since his return to office in January this year. During his first term, he joined the 2017 summit in the Philippines but skipped subsequent gatherings, prompting questions about his administration’s engagement with South-east Asia.

Also expected to attend are Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.  

Other pressing issues expected to be discussed at the summit include Myanmar’s ongoing political crisis, with the junta inviting fellow Asean member states to send observers to its planned year-end elections.

Reuters reported that critics and many Western governments view the polls as a sham exercise designed to legitimise the military’s rule through proxy political parties.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since a 2021 military coup that ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and triggered an armed rebellion; large parts of the country are now beyond the junta’s control.

In response, Asean has barred Myanmar’s ruling generals from key meetings, instead inviting “non-political” representatives to attend. Myanmar accepted the arrangement for the first time last year, though it remains unclear if it will do so again this year.

Beyond the political and security agenda, Asean leaders are also expected to discuss New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s plans to deepen his country’s engagement with the bloc, as both sides mark 50 years of dialogue relations this year.

The summit will conclude with Malaysia handing over the Asean chairmanship to the Philippines, which will host the bloc’s 48th summit next year. Singapore is next in line to take up the role after that.

The Asean Summit is the first of two major international meetings taking place within a week. 

The 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Summit follows from Oct 31 to Nov 1 in South Korea’s historic city of Gyeongju, where the White House confirmed on Oct 24 that Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines.

The leaders of several Asean members – including Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand – are also expected to attend the Apec Summit, as they are member economies of the forum.