ASEAN summit opens in Malaysia with focus on integration, resilience

China

ASEAN summit opens in Malaysia with focus on integration, resilience

2025-05-26 14:12 Last Updated At：05-27 00:07

The 46th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit opened on Monday in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, with greater regional integration and resilience against trade and economic disruptions high on the agenda.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the plenary session, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim urged ASEAN members to work together to face the challenges brought about by a changing world order to ensure the agenda of sustainable and equitable development is not sidelined.

"For ASEAN, our peace, stability and prosperity have often depended on an open, inclusive, rules-based international order, anchored in the free flow of trade, capital and people. These foundations are now being dismantled under the force of arbitrary action," he said.

"Indeed, a transition in the geopolitical order is underway and the global trading system is under further strain, with the recent imposition of U.S. unilateral tariffs. Protectionism is resurging as we bear witness to multilateralism breaking apart at the seams," he added.

Anwar also stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation with friendly partners of the grouping, noting the significance of the first ever ASEAN-GCC (the Gulf Cooperation Council)-China summit, which brings together the grouping along with the GCC and China, the region's biggest economic partner.

The summit will adopt the ASEAN community vision 2045 and issue a declaration, providing guiding opinions and plans for the ASEAN's development in the next 20 years.

Malaysia is serving as the chair of the ASEAN for 2025, and is hosting the ASEAN Summit and related summits under the theme "Inclusivity and Sustainability."

Established in 1967, the bloc groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Global food prices rise for 2nd consecutive month in March amid Middle East conflict: FAO

Global food commodity prices climbed for a second consecutive month in March, driven mainly by higher energy costs linked to escalating conflict in the Middle East, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said in report released on Friday.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of globally traded food commodities, averaged 128.5 points in March, up 2.4 percent from February and 1.0 percent above its level a year ago.

According to the report, the FAO Vegetable Oil Index and Sugar Price Index showed the largest increases, up 5.1 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.

The FAO Cereal Price Index increased by 1.5 percent from the previous month, driven primarily by higher world wheat prices, which rose 4.3 percent.

The FAO Meat Price Index rose by 1.0 percent from the previous month, and the FAO All-Rice Price Index declined by 3.0 percent in March, according to the report.

FAO stated that rising energy and fertilizer prices have been driving up agricultural input costs.

If the conflict stretches beyond 40 days, farmers will have to choose to farm the same with fewer inputs, plant less, or switch to less intensive fertilizer crops, according to FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero.

These choices will hit future yields and shape food supply and commodity prices for the rest of this year and beyond, Torero said.