Description: Finance leaders from the 11-state member organization, ASEAN, alongside leaders from the 6 Gulf States comprising the Gulf Cooperation Council met in Malaysia as they launched the joint summit with China. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim underscored the importance of the summit in his opening remarks as he noted that countries from the Global South can no longer be marginalized on the global trade stage. China’s Premier Li Qiang was also attending the summit as he emphasized the importance of closer cooperation between ASEAN countries and GCC members and highlighted their impact on the global economy as stable and reliable partners. Kuwait’s Crown Prince, Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al Sabah and his Qatari counterpart, the Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani were also present, as they discussed diversifying the GCC’s investment portfolio through enhancing cooperation with the 11 ASEAN countries and expanding the market presence and influence under a joint front. The leaders jointly underscored the importance of the economic and strategic alliance in excruciatingly turbulent geopolitical conditions. The combined joint GDP of the ASEAN and GCC equals $25 trillion and serves a market exceeding a population of 2 billion.
Impact: The Malaysian joint summit enlarges the threat US tariffs represent to other global leading and growing economies and emphasizes the effect which positions countries to expand multilateral partnerships. The prospects from a closer ASEAN – GCC cooperation are enormous and would most certainly benefit growing economies expand even further, while also enabling dominant and influential economies such as China to further extend their influence and build multilateral relations of geoeconomic codependence. The joint summit also represents a clear message of the deteriorating influence the US has in Asia and the Middle East and a clear message to the US administration that longstanding partnerships aren’t built through conservatism and isolationism. The Gulf countries are expected to benefit from the expanded market presence the ASEAN countries offer, while the ASEAN countries stand to benefit from the GCC’s vast oil and gas reserves. The summit signifies a major shift in global power dynamics and shifting alliances, mostly impacted by the US foreign policies and instabilities within the global security and energy sectors.