Malaysian Prime Minister (PM) Anwar Ibrahim received the baton of the ASEAN chairmanship from Laos Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone during the closing ceremony of the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits in Vientiane on October 11th. Prime Minister Anwar expressed Malaysia’s aspirations for shared progress, which is reflected in their chairmanship theme of “Inclusivity and Sustainability.
Experts believe that Malaysia’s chairmanship is unlikely to alter the bloc’s strategic direction given the chair does not possess unilateral decision-making power. Moreover, some analysts believe that Putrajaya’s policy of forging closer ties with the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) as well as PM Anwar’s visit to Vladivostok, where he invited President Vladimir Putin to attend the 2025 ASEAN Summit, is indicative of his desire to work with Russia in addition to China and the United States.
Despite a clear approach of multilateralism, PM Anwar highlights that the U.S. cumulatively remains one of Malaysia's largest trading partners. He remains focused on boosting trade and FDI ties with the U.S. and EU despite differing geopolitical perspectives. Yet, Malaysia is poised to st its regional leadership by balancing global partnerships and consolidating ASEAN’s convening power to tackle prevailing crises.
