He said ASEAN foreign ministers and economic ministers must move in concert to face challenges, stressing that such synergy is essential to translate ASEAN’s unity into tangible outcomes.
Tools traditionally used to promote growth, including trade and investment, are now increasingly being deployed to exert political pressure and fragment global cooperation, Anwar cautioned, while addressing the opening ceremony of the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
“This trend is not a passing storm, but the new weather of our time,” he was quoted as saying by a news agency.
Power has always shaped trade, but today, it increasingly defines it, he said, citing the proliferation of tariffs, export restrictions and investment barriers as instruments of geopolitical rivalry.
Against this backdrop, ASEAN must confront today’s realities with ‘clarity and conviction’, ensuring that unity is not only expressed in declarations but also embedded in institutions, strategies and decision-making, he emphasised.
Anwar called on ASEAN to strengthen internal integration by expanding intra-regional trade and investment, as well as accelerating sectoral integration, to enhance resilience and relevance.
He also rejected the notion that Southeast Asia should be subject to external spheres of influence, stressing that ASEAN must deliberately and coherently chart its own course.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)
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