The APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Summit 2025 and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit 2025 are two high-profile diplomatic and economic forums lined up during the fourth quarter of 2025. Both summits are critically important for regional cooperation, international trade, and geopolitics. It would be interesting to watch the outcomes of both these summits as they unfold a week from here, whether they focus on development as focal agenda or display their aggressive deterrence aspirations.
The APEC Summit 2025 will be held between October 30 to November 1 in Gyeongju, South Korea. It is the second time South Korea will be hosting this significant forum, with preparation centred on economic cooperation among Asia-Pacific member economies.
At the same time, the 47th ASEAN Summit will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on October 26-28, 2025. The summit will convene the leaders of the 10 ASEAN members and several international leaders as special guests, which highlights ASEAN's increasing geopolitical significance.
APEC is one of the most influential forums promoting trade liberalisation, economic integration, and sustainable development among its 21 member economies that include global giants like the U.S., China, Japan, Australia, and Russia. The agenda of the 2025 summit will focus on digital economy collaboration, supply chain resilience, and climate action. It includes crucial meetings like the first-ever in-person meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping since Trump's re-election, in an effort to ease trade tensions and promote economic negotiations. The gathering is a highlight amid the trading disputes and geopolitical rivalries affecting global markets.
The ASEAN Summit takes centre stage to secure regional peace, economic resilience, and inclusive development as per the theme of "Inclusivity and Sustainability" under Malaysia's leadership. Expected key outcomes include the official accession of Timor-Leste as ASEAN's 11th member, trade agreements upgrades, and negotiation on regional security issues such as the Myanmar crisis. The summit also involves representation from great powers of the world, which marks ASEAN's status as an intermediary of East Asia, South Asia, and the world.
Both summits come at a delicate moment with unevenly developing trade relations, notably the U.S.-China one, lingering post-COVID-19 pandemic sequelae, and changing regional security dynamics. For Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region, such forums provide the platform for reinforcing multilateralism, pursuing trade alliances, and tackling emerging concerns like climate change and digitalisation. India's virtual attendance at the ASEAN Summit indicates emerging interregional relationships and strategic partnerships in the Indo-Pacifics.
The APEC and ASEAN Summits of late October and early November 2025 are critical for steering economic cooperation and geopolitical balancing within a fast-changing world order. Successful dialogues resulting from these summits can lay the groundwork for further regional integration, dispute settlement, and sustainable development in Asia-Pacific and Southeast Asia. However, both these summits have potential to make decisions troubling for the other pole, leading to people anticipating many outcomes from these two summits.
