The first ASEAN-GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) Summit was held in Riyadh on Friday, Oct. 20, issuing the ASEAN-GCC Framework of Cooperation 2024-2028. ASEAN leaders attending included Joko Widodo of Indonesia, Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines, and Anwar Ibrahim from Malaysia, among others.
Anwar is proposing the creation of a free trade agreement between ASEAN and the GCC. Marcos is calling on Saudi Arabia to contribute to the Philippines recently created sovereign fund, and signed an agreement for over $4 billion for 15,000 Filipinos “in training and employment opportunities across a wide range of professions in the construction industry” in Saudi Arabia.
The summit released a statement on the war in Gaza, which included a condemnation of “all attacks against civilians and call for a durable ceasefire and for all concerned parties to ensure the most effective and efficient access for humanitarian aid, and relief supplies and other basic necessities and essential services, as well as the restoration of electricity, water, and allow the unhindered delivery of fuel, food, and medicine throughout Gaza.”
