(AseanAll) — ASEAN and GCC reaffirmed their shared commitment to deepening ASEAN-GCC relations and explored new avenues for cooperation across various sectors, emphasising the importance of their collaborative partnership in addressing shared challenges and opportunities.
This commitment was made at the Second Meeting between the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR) and the GCC Ambassadors’ Council in Jakarta on 12 November 2025.
Held at the ASEAN Headquarters/ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, the Meeting deliberated the key outcomes and follow-up to the Second ASEAN-GCC Summit, and reviewed the progress made in the implementation of the ASEAN-GCC Framework of Cooperation (FOC) 2024–2028 and chart out the future direction.
Building on the Leaders’ mandate outlined in the Joint Declaration on Economic Cooperation between ASEAN and the GCC adopted at the Second ASEAN-GCC Summit, both sides reaffirmed a shared vision for region-to-region economic integration and strengthened partnership and collaboration to address global challenges. The Meeting looked forward to enhancing sectoral collaboration in trade and investment, particularly through closer engagement between public and private sector, as well as the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) and the Federation of the GCC Chambers. Both sides also identified key areas for future cooperation, including science and technology; Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs); digital economy; intellectual property; supply chain resilience; smart cities; financial technology; health; artificial intelligence; cybersecurity; halal industry; renewable energy; agriculture, water and food security; and tourism.
The Meeting reaffirmed the importance of strengthening political-security cooperation, with ASEAN encouraging the GCC’s support for the implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP). Both sides looked forward to enhanced collaboration in counter-terrorism, transnational crime, and cybersecurity, and commended the growing engagement between ASEAN Chiefs of Police Conference (ASEANAPOL) and the GCC Police (GCCPOL).
Underscoring the importance of fostering mutual understanding and cultural exchange, both sides looked forward to expanding cooperation in areas of mutual interest and benefits such as education; culture; youth; media; climate change; environment; disaster management; and on a humanitarian coordination mechanism to support delivery of aid in Gaza.
ASEAN called for GCC’s support in the implementation of ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future; IAI Work Plan V; the ASEAN Power Grid (APG); and through collaboration with ASEAN centres of excellence. On Connectivity, ASEAN encouraged cooperation on sustainable infrastructure, digital innovation, and people mobility.
Both sides shared key developments and initiatives in the respective regions, with the GCC congratulating Timor-Leste on its admission to ASEAN.
Permanent Representative of the Philippines to ASEAN, Evangeline T. Ong-Jimenez Ducrocq, and Ambassador of Kuwait to Indonesia, Khalid Jassim Alyassin, co-chaired the Meeting. Members of the CPR and the GCC Ambassadors’ Council in Jakarta or their representatives, the ASEAN Secretariat officials, and their respective delegations were in attendance.
