PUTRAJAYA, Jan 26 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will chair every periodic meeting related to Malaysia’s preparedness to assume the Asean chairmanship in 2025, aimed at enhancing the country’s image on the global stage.
This was shared by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan immediately after a special two-hour meeting to launch the Asean -Malaysia 2025 chairmanship at the Perdana Putra building here today, which was chaired by Anwar.
“We held the early launch meeting because we want to make thorough and meticulous preparations to be the chair (of Asean) later. This is not the first time we are chairing; the last time we chaired Asean was 10 years ago in 2015.
“But now, in 2025, various new challenges must be addressed and agreed upon among ASEAN countries,” he told reporters after the meeting.
He said that in preparation for Malaysia’s takeover, three main clusters were established: political, defence, and citizenship cluster under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the economic and trade cluster under the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry and the cultural and social cluster under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture.
Mohamad said that other ministries would be placed under the leadership of these clusters in planning and executing any Asean -sponsored programmes or activities chaired by Malaysia.
These include aspects such as themes, logo design, logistics and accommodation for foreign leaders during the programme, he said.
He said in the upcoming periodic meetings, each cluster would present its work status to assess whether the plans were progressing according to schedule.
“All ministries know their respective roles, and they have presented what they want to do. Five to six directions have been given as a guide. We want to see that the work is done together and not in silos.”
He said Laos would hand over the Asean chairmanship for 2025 at the Asean Summit
Meanwhile, the government machinery has been urged to make the best use of the Asean-Malaysia Chairmanship in 2025 as a platform to enhance the country’s profile and reputation.
This was stated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at a special meeting on the launch of the Asean-Malaysia 2025 chairmanship which was chaired by him today.
In a post on Facebook, Anwar said it is crucial to give greater emphasis to “popularising Asean ” and realising an Asean Community centred on the people to drive regional development and growth collectively within the Asean framework.
He said the meeting also discussed preparations from both substantive and logistical perspectives for Malaysia’s Chairmanship of Asean, scheduled to commence on January 1, 2025.
“I touched on the importance of ensuring a smooth, successful and meaningful Asean-Malaysia 2025 Chairmanship with meticulous preparations,” he said.
— Bernama
