Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has used the ASEAN Summit in Manila to urge member countries to diversify their sources of food and medicine and to build up production within the region, saying the need was most urgent for the essentials people cannot do without.
Speaking at the plenary session of the 49th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits on Sunday (Nov 15), he called for more trade within the region in fertilisers, seeds and animal feed, and for essential food and farm inputs to keep moving through agreed “green lanes” during crises.
To strengthen food security, he also proposed making better joint use of regional reserves such as the ASEAN Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve.
On medicines, Anwar urged member states to recognise one another’s regulatory approvals, pool their purchasing power and stockpiles, and expand regional manufacturing of essential medicines and vaccines. He cited the Covid-19 pandemic as an example of how supply chains can break down.
Anwar also called on ASEAN to protect the region’s biodiversity from outside exploitation and misappropriation through stronger regional governance, describing it as a matter of regional sovereignty as well as an environmental concern.
On transboundary haze, Malaysia proposed science diplomacy and a sustainable haze fund through the Subregional Ministerial Steering Committee on Transboundary Haze Pollution, to strengthen scientific cooperation and provide steadier funding for carrying out the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution. Malaysia plans to push the proposals at the agreement’s Conference of the Parties in December and when it chairs the committee in 2027.
Anwar welcomed the signing of the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement, which is expected to help double the region’s digital economy to US$2 trillion by 2030, and named the ASEAN Power Grid as the bloc’s top energy priority, with regional energy demand projected to quadruple by 2060.
The summit, held under the Philippines’ chairmanship with the theme “Navigating Our Future, Together”, runs until Tuesday (Nov 17). Anwar plans to return home briefly during the summit for French President Emmanuel Macron’s official visit to Malaysia.