Excellencies,
On behalf of the Government of Malaysia, I am pleased to welcome you to Kuala Lumpur.
In 2005, in these very halls, the ASEAN Leaders had the wisdom and foresight to establish the East Asia Summit, as a forum for dialogue on broad strategic, political, and economic issues of common interest and concern, with the aim of promoting peace, stability, and economic prosperity in East Asia.
They envisaged the East Asia Summit to be an open, inclusive, transparent, and outward-looking forum, in which to strive to strengthen global norms and universally recognised values, with ASEAN as the driving force, working in partnership with the other participants of the East Asia Summit.
In an increasingly interconnected and inter- dependent world, peace, stability and prosperity are our collective and shared privilege. We must continuously work together to ensure they are safeguarded and progressed.
Two decades later, the East Asia Summit stands more relevant and vital than ever. Today’s world faces a complex web of crises that jeopardise global peace, shared prosperity, and the well- being of people everywhere. From the outbreak of conflicts and rising great power competition, to economic fragmentation, rapid technological shifts, and transnational security threats.
These global and regional dynamics are shifting rapidly, testing the strength of our resolve and institutions, the clarity of our vision, and the resilience of our cooperation.
It is, thus, critical that we sustain the purpose and objective of the EAS, promote principled engagements, and advance common ground on issues of shared concern.
In this context, Malaysia appreciates the EAS participating countries’ support for our priority as Chair to foster strategic trust through diplomacy, goodwill, and respect for international law, including through this platform.
With a combined nominal GDP of approximately USD68 trillion, the countries in this hall today account for over half of the global economy.
This economic weight reinforces the EAS’s strategic importance, not only as a platform for dialogue, but as a powerful engine for cooperation, that broadens shared prosperity and enhances socio-economic resilience.
In this regard, peace, stability and predictability are essential. The many conflicts around the world must be effectively addressed and their untold devastation and sufferings relieved.
ASEAN welcomes and supports all efforts towards peace, including in Ukraine and the Middle East. These efforts should be based on international law, international humanitarian law, and the United Nations Charter.
The longest conflict of modern history, rooted in the unjust and illegal occupation of the Palestinian Territory, must be brought to an end.
Eighty years of impunity have emboldened Israel to the extent of openly committing genocide, including through mass starvation that includes babies and children. This is unacceptable. It must not be allowed to continue. It must stop.
Excellencies,
Let us mark this 20
th year of the East Asia Summit with a pledge to take decisive actions to end all conflicts, and to do so, guided by the principles of justice, fairness, equality and humanity.
ASEAN counts on the constructive engagement, and commitment of all partners towards ensuring lasting peace, shared prosperity, and continued progress for all.
Thank you.
--BERNAMA