Kuwait City: GCC Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Negotiations, Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Owaisheq, has highlighted Kuwait's pivotal role in coordinating positions and unifying views in the upcoming GCC-ASEAN and GCC-ASEAN-China summits. These high-profile meetings are scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur on May 26-27.
According to Kuwait News Agency, Al-Owaisheq emphasized Kuwait's significant efforts as the current GCC President in facilitating cooperation negotiations with ASEAN countries and China. He noted Kuwait's active involvement in conveying GCC and Arab action priorities to Asian countries, focusing on critical issues such as the Palestinian conflict and the situations in Syria and Yemen.
Al-Owaisheq traced the cooperative efforts back to the initial collaboration between the GCC and ASEAN in 2009 in Bahrain, which led to the establishment of working groups in trade, investment, education, food security, and cultural cooperation. He underscored the importance of the summit's outcomes, especially in implementing the Joint Action Plan (2024-2028) approved during the first GCC-ASEAN summit in Riyadh.
China's role as a strategic partner was also highlighted, with Al-Owaisheq noting that China is the largest trading partner for both the GCC and ASEAN. The annual trade volume between the GCC and China surpasses USD 200 billion, while trade with ASEAN reaches USD 150 billion, accounting for approximately 40 percent of the GCC's total foreign trade.
Al-Owaisheq stated that the GCC, ASEAN, and China collectively represent more than 25 percent of the global economy. The upcoming summits are intended to bolster trilateral cooperation and explore the promising potential among these regions. He revealed that the GCC is nearing the conclusion of a free trade agreement with China, which has shown interest in deepening ties with the GCC.
In contrast, discussions for a free trade agreement with ASEAN have yet to commence, partly due to internal disagreements within ASEAN regarding customs tariffs. Al-Owaisheq expressed the GCC's aspiration to negotiate with ASEAN as a whole and with individual countries, noting that Singapore has already signed a free trade agreement with the GCC. Negotiations with Indonesia are underway, and preparations to begin talks with Malaysia are in progress.
The summits aim to fortify regional partnerships and broaden the scope of economic and development cooperation, particularly in the context of global geopolitical challenges and shifts in the international trade landscape.