ASEAN Summit To Pave Way For Closer Ties With CPTPP Members Ahead Of November Dialogue
By Zufazlin Baharuddin
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 (Bernama) -- The 47th ASEAN Summit is expected to pave the way for deeper engagement between ASEAN and members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) ahead of the formal ASEAN and CPTPP dialogue on Nov 20, 2025.
Putra Business School professor Dr Ahmed Razman Abdul Latiff said the summit is expected to boost CPTPP progress by encouraging more FTAs between ASEAN and CPTPP members, paving the way for closer collaboration between both parties.
“Collaboration between ASEAN members and CPTPP members can be further strengthened and facilitated if they are involved in direct FTA agreements between each other, on top of the official collaboration between these two blocs,” he told Bernama.
CPTPP is a free trade agreement signed by 12 countries, comprising Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam.
Four ASEAN member countries -- Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam -- are members of the CPTPP.
Meanwhile, IPPFA Sdn Bhd director of investment strategy and country economist Mohd Sedek Jantan said the 47th ASEAN Summit will set the direction of ASEAN’s course on CPTPP engagement.
He said that under Australia’s CPTPP chairmanship this year, discussions began on bridging the CPTPP rules with ASEAN’s trade framework.
The CPTPP Ministerial, held in Jeju, South Korea, in May 2025, on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting (APEC MRT), confirmed plans to launch structured ASEAN-CPTPP dialogues.
ASEAN’s decision for a formal dialogue was later endorsed at the ASEAN Economic Ministers’ (AEM) Meeting in Kuala Lumpur in September 2025.
Meanwhile, Cambodia and the Philippines have begun feasibility studies for possible accession.
“Leaders are expected to endorse the ASEAN-CPTPP Senior Officials’ Dialogue on Nov 20 as one of the summit’s key deliverables, reaffirming new engagements with CPTPP members and signalling support for future entrants such as Indonesia.
“Sideline discussions, especially among overlapping members like Malaysia and Vietnam, may focus on practical cooperation in areas such as digital trade, green transition, and non-tariff barrier reduction,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd's chief economist, Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, said that four ASEAN member countries — Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Brunei Darussalam — are also CPTPP members; hence, the formal dialogue would create the right avenue to invite other non-CPTPP member countries in ASEAN to become new members.
“Not to mention some of the CPTPP member countries are also members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Essentially, the formal dialogue sends a clear signal of the aspiration and desire to embrace international trade, seeking to revisit and reform the existing framework to facilitate global integration.
“This is particularly important as protectionist policies have become increasingly prevalent, which has a significant impact on the global supply chain.
“Therefore, it is a strategic imperative for governments across the globe to find a friendlier party who would be more constructive in doing business together,” he said.
Mohd Afzanizam opined that the dialogue will open up more discussions, especially regarding any concerns among the non-CPTPP members within ASEAN.
“I suppose one area that really stands out is technology, with the emergence of e-commerce and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
“Along the way, the green economy and the sustainability agenda could serve as a common interest that everyone would agree on regarding the net-zero carbon emission objective,” he added.
CPTPP comprises member countries with a combined GDP of approximately US$15.8 trillion (US$1 = RM4.22), accounting for 14.4 per cent of the world’s total GDP.
The agreement covers a population of about 593.2 million people, making it one of the largest and most significant trade blocs globally.
Malaysia, which holds the ASEAN chairmanship this year under the theme “Inclusivity and Sustainability”, will host the 47th ASEAN Summit from Oct 26 to Oct 28 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
This is the fifth time Malaysia has assumed the ASEAN Chair since the bloc’s inception in 1967, with previous chairmanships in 2015, 2005, 1997 and 1977.
The Philippines will take over the ASEAN chairmanship from Malaysia in 2026.
-- BERNAMA