Who’s who: Bigwigs present at the 47th ASEAN Summit
It’s that time of the year again for leaders of Southeast Asian nations to convene in a summit and discuss cooperation and diplomacy within the region — one of Asia’s most dynamic and the fifth-largest economy in the world.
From October 26 to 28, more than a dozen world leaders will gather in Kuala Lumpur for the 47th ASEAN Summit, which bears greater weight as it witnessed the expansion of the regional bloc to include East Timor, Asia’s newest democracy.
Even some top honchos will mark a first at the ASEAN Summit, too.
Of course, leaders of the 10 ASEAN member states are present: Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim, Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Cambodia’s Hun Manet, Indonesia’s Prabowo Subianto, Laos’ Sonexay Siphandone, Philippines’ Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Singapore’s Lawrence Wong, Thailand’s Anutin Charnvirakul and Vietnam’s Pham Minh Chinh.
Only Myanmar’s titular leader, Min Aung Hlaing, will not attend the high-level summit. A military junta leader, he has been banned from the ASEAN Summit since 2021 for rejecting the bloc’s five-point peace plan.
Sanae Takaichi, the new leader of the big continental player Japan, will mark her diplomatic debut in Kuala Lumpur. There, she is expected to talk with US President Donald Trump about their strategic alliance in the contested waters region.
Parallels have been drawn between Takaichi and Trump; both rose to power by climbing the conservative ranks, have been viewed as polarising leaders, and have had a hardliner stance on immigration.
Trump himself marks a first in ASEAN. It will be the first stop of his three-country Asia tour that will also include Japan and then South Korea, which is his first journey around the region since returning to the White House in 2024.
On the other end of the global powers totem, China’s delegation will be led by Premier Li Qiang. Other attendees from Asia-Pacific include Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Canrey will be present, too. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend, albeit virtually.
Non-state leaders who will participate include United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and World Bank Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific Carlos Jaramillo.
These leaders are expected to pore over some of the most contentious issues hounding Southeast Asia, including threats of Chinese aggression, border disputes between member states Thailand and Cambodia, and Trump’s tariffs.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
