Published: 25 Jun 2025
Author: Melinda Martinus
Cooperation between ASEAN and the Gulf Cooperation Council should be seen not only from the lens of trade investments, but also people-to-people connections.
The 2nd ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit and the inaugural ASEAN-GCC-China Summit held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 26 to 27 May 2025, marked a significant step towards deepening ties between ASEAN and the GCC. While inter-regional cooperation is often framed in terms of energy, trade, and investment, the foundations of this relationship are increasingly shaped by people-to-people connectivity, anchored in labour migration, religious devotion, and growing financial linkages. As fast-growing regions, ASEAN and the GCC are forming deeper ties shaped as much by daily human interactions as by strategic interests.
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