DECADES after formal relations between Asean and the Gulf states were established, their leaders will meet for the first time under one roof in Saudi Arabia this week with a busy agenda in front of them.

The inaugural summit between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) takes place in Riyadh this Friday (Oct 20), with the two blocs eager to boost relations in different areas.

Asean comprises Singapore and nine other South-east Asian countries. The GCC is a political and economic alliance that brings together six Arab countries: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Regular interactions

The first formal contact between the two blocs took place in 1990 when Oman, which was then the GCC chair, expressed a desire to establish formal relations with Asean.

The first Asean-GCC ministerial meeting was held in 2009 in Bahrain. Since then, the foreign ministers from both sides have met annually on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

With Kuwait’s accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in South-east Asia in September this year, all six members of the GCC have now signed the 1976 Asean peace pact.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Friday, 8.30 am

Asean Business

Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies.

Sign Up

The treaty was originally signed among Asean member states to promote peace and cooperation within the region, and stands as a prerequisite for countries that want to establish formal partnerships with Asean.

Bahrain acceded to the treaty in November 2019; Oman, Qatar, and UAE did so in August 2022; and Saudi Arabia followed suit in July this year.

Malaysia serves as this year’s coordinating country for Asean-GCC relations.

Who’s going?

Many leaders have already confirmed their attendance for the high-level meeting , which will hone in on economic and trade ties.

Among them are Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who will co-chair the summit alongside Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr will also be in the Saudi Arabia capital, with a government spokesman saying that he is likely to talk about the welfare and protection of his country’s migrant workers who are living and working in Gulf countries.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is also attending. He recently made a working visit to the UAE earlier this month, successfully securing investment commitments amounting to RM40.6 billion (S$11.8 billion).

Summit’s significance

Although diplomatic relations between South-east Asian and Gulf nations have been in place for a few decades, meaningful cooperation has been minimal.

But the relationship is gathering pace.

Economic and trade ties between Asia and the Middle East have been deepening rapidly, thanks to China and the GCC’s burgeoning trade as well as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s championing of the concerns of the Global South. Asean-GCC relations are believed to follow suit.

Sharon Seah, a senior fellow and coordinator of the Asean Studies Centre at the Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute, said: “The elevation of relations from ministerial level talks to an actual meeting of heads of government and/or heads of state is a significant milestone in Asean-GCC relations.”

Joseph Liow, dean of the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Nanyang Technological University, said the Riyadh summit is an “expression of Asean’s position of open regionalism and engaging all parties that are keen to engage with them”.

What will they discuss?

Prof Liow noted that the initial intent to hold the summit was to discuss trade, energy and economics.

“There might be discussions on the situation in Gaza as well, although it will remain to be seen if it enters into the final document (to be issued at the end of the summit),” he added.

“The GCC may be on the same page, more or less, on their views, but I’m not quite sure the same can be said for Asean.”

Likewise, Seah foresees discussions on the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and she anticipates a joint statement to address concerns about regional and international peace and security.

She added that the summit is expected to adopt a plan of action from 2024 to 2028 and include more substantive areas of cooperation.

“I expect that there will be more cooperation in the energy space including exchanges on low-carbon technologies, greater cooperation in finance and banking, the development of halal certification standards, and more frequent policy dialogue and exchanges,” said Seah.

“If there is a gradual deepening of trade and investment facilitation, we may perhaps see relations move towards an exploration of a trade agreement.”

Said Prof Liow: “In the larger scheme of things, we need to see if anything substantive is achieved beyond the optics.”