By Ambassador (p) Gheorghe Savuica*
The 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and Related Meetings were held in Kuala Lumpur on July 8-11, 2025. Malaysia is the Chair of ASEAN for 2025.
This event followed the very recent successful 46th Summit in Kuala Lumpur on May 26-27, 2025, which remains in the history of the Association as the time of launching the “ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future”, representing the ASEAN Community Vision charting the developments of the countries in Southeast Asia for the next two decades, based on their own collective resolve.
Both recalled important moments came out to be political, strategic and economic auspicious opportunities to debate and take resolute decisions to successfully cope with the current uncertain, unstable and dangerous geopolitical and geo-economics international developments.
In the spirit and according to the 46th ASEAN Summit, practically, global, regional, sub regional topics and serious hot spots, which continuously appear in the world, were tackled during the entire set of meetings held within the context of the 58th AMM. The meetings were part of the ASEAN mechanism, which were added by several bilateral talks among the participants, including those between the Foreign Ministers of China and Russia with the US Foreign Secretary.
The statements of the ASEAN leaders and the adopted documents by both events mentioned above emphasize the absolute necessity to maintain and consolidate ASEAN’s Unity and its Centrality as the essential guaranties of its success, as well as to continue to promote dialogue, diplomacy, and strategic trust, and to create space for cooperation. The Centrality of ASEAN is internationally recognized and is becoming stronger after each ASEAN meetings, as it is as well the case of the 58th AMM.
ASEAN leaders reiterated with a much lauder voice the urgency to support multilateralism, signalling that it is under attack.
The importance of the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) constitutes a permanent point of reference in all documents of ASEAN summits.
On the sidelines of the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting/ Post-Ministerial Conferences was held the meeting of the SEANWFZ Commission. It is very much clear that today nuclear danger seems to have been spotted out of a relevant high concern and fear for world peace. Unfortunately, there are reasons for such concern and fear. ASEAN foreign ministers agreed to encourage the signing and ratification of the SEANWFZ Protocol by nuclear-weapon states. China confirmed its intention to sign the SEANWFZ treaty.
On the issue of Palestine, ASEAN adopted an Action Plan to implement the proposals put forward by member states during the special session on Palestine, held on the occasion of the 58th AMM.
The Joint Communiqué issued on the 58th AMM starts with an eloquent point of view of the Honourable Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia, whom I met during my diplomatic mission in Malaysia as Chief of Mission (1983-1990):
“The Meeting was opened by The Honourable Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia. In his remarks, Prime Minister Anwar highlighted ASEAN's strength in its habits of cooperation and its willingness to keep engaging. He emphasised that ASEAN is a region that charts its own course deliberately, coherently, and with purpose. Prime Minister Anwar underlined the principle of Centrality as ASEAN's guiding principle, which is crucial for maintaining the region's role as the primary anchor for dialogue and ensuring external partners continue to find value in engaging with ASEAN. In line with the ASEAN 2045: Our Shared Future, he called for greater synergy across pillars and sectors, and proposed for ASEAN Foreign Ministers and ASEAN Economic Ministers to move in concert in facing challenges. He underscored the importance of fortifying ASEAN’s internal foundations, by increasing intra-ASEAN trade and investment and advancing integration across sectors.”
For a complete picture of the results of the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and Related Meetings, IRSEA is presenting the following adopted official documents:
- https://asean.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/FINAL-Joint-Communique-of-the-58th-AMM.pdf
- https://asean.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/32ND-ARF-CHAIRMAN-STATEMENT-11-JULY-2025.pdf
* The author is the Founder and President of IRSEA and Founder and Honorary President of Romania-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He is a graduate of Moscow State Institute of International Relations. As a career diplomat with over four decades of diplomatic service, an University recognized specialist on Southeast Asia and ASEAN, speaker of Bahasa Indonesia, Russian and English, he represented Romania as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Pakistan and Indonesia and Chief of Mission, with Cabinet Letter, to Sri Lanka, Malaysia, the Philippines, Cyprus, Finland and Estonia.
He published multiple articles, thought-pieces and commentaries reflecting his views on current dynamics in International Affairs and the ongoing developments related to the greater scope of Europe Asia relations. He authored several major chapters in edited volumes on Romania’s Foreign Policy, published by the Romanian Academy.
Ambassador (p) Savuica is a former Director of the Republic of Moldova Division, former Director of the Asia Pacific Division and former Director General of the Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Latin America Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of ROMANIA.
He is married and has two daughters, a granddaughter and a grandson.