1. The Fifty-Seventh ASEAN Economic Ministers’ (AEM) Meeting was held on 23 September 2025, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Meeting, which was chaired by Malaysia under the theme of “Inclusivity and Sustainability,” was preceded by a preparatory meeting of the ASEAN Senior Economic Officials (SEOM) and joint meetings with the 39th ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) Council and the 28th ASEAN Investment Area (AIA) Council.
Regional and Global Developments
2. The Meeting noted that the ASEAN economy expanded by 4.8% in 2024 and is projected to experience a growth of 4.2% in 2025 compared to a projected global growth of 2.8%. The Meeting acknowledged that the 2025 outlook was revised downward on several occasions, reflecting the adverse impact and uncertainty arising from the global tariff landscape. The Meeting highlighted that ASEAN’s trade in goods demonstrated robust growth of 8.9% to USD 3.8 trillion in 2024, driven by sustained demand from key trading partners, while ASEAN’s trade in services also experienced an impressive growth of 12.2% to USD 1.3 trillion in the same period. The Meeting cautioned that early indicators suggest emerging vulnerabilities in regional trade performance in the latter half of 2025, attributable to the front-loading of exports in anticipation of tariff impositions concentrated in the early part of the year.[1][2][3] The Meeting recognized that in 2024, investment in ASEAN remained relatively resilient, with FDI inflows rising by 8.5% to USD 226.0 billion, outpacing the global FDI growth rate of 4%.
Download the full joint statement here.