THE ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) officially begins today, a pivotal phase ahead of the 46th ASEAN Summit which is set to take place at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from May 26 to 27.
The session started at 8.30am and brought together ASEAN SOM Leaders, Timor-Leste’s SOM representatives, and officials from the ASEAN Secretariat, with the aim of aligning positions on key regional issues ahead of the ASEAN Heads of State/Government sessions.
After a working lunch, the SOM will reconvene in the afternoon, followed by a series of informal consultations on the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus, ASEAN’s collective roadmap for addressing the situation in Myanmar.
The consultations will begin at 4pm with targeted discussions among selected ASEAN Foreign Ministers and senior envoys from Malaysia, Laos, and the Philippines, before expanding to a broader ASEAN representation in a later session.
The outcome of these discussions is expected to shape the bloc’s collective response to the current situation.
As diplomacy shifts from conference halls to more informal settings, the evening will culminate in a welcome dinner hosted by Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
The dinner, held at the Petronas Club, will welcome Foreign Ministers from ASEAN, Timor-Leste, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and China. It will be the week’s first official high-level gathering.
Concurrently, the economic track will gain momentum with the Preparatory Senior Economic Officials’ Meeting (Prep-SEOM), which will lay the groundwork for the 25th ASEAN Economic Community Council.
The Prep-SEOM typically serves to fine-tune key economic priorities such as trade, investment, and sustainability.
This year’s ASEAN Summit with the theme “Inclusivity and Sustainability” is expected to be particularly significant as it includes the 2nd ASEAN-GCC Summit and the inaugural ASEAN-GCC-China Summit, reflecting ASEAN’s growing engagement with key international partners. — BERNAMA
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