ASEAN to Invite All Members to May 2026 Summit, Focus on Global Issues

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – Director General for ASEAN Cooperation at Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ina Krisnamurthi, stated that all ASEAN member states will be invited to participate in the ASEAN Summit scheduled for early May 2026. She also explained that the attendance of national leaders will follow established procedures, with participation from the 10 ASEAN member states at the leaders’ level.

“Meanwhile, Myanmar will participate but will be represented by a non-political official,” she said during a media gathering on Thursday, April 30, 2026, at the Nusantara Building, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jakarta.

The series of meetings will begin on May 6 at the Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) level, followed by ministerial meetings on May 7, and a business summit later that evening. The main summit will take place on May 8 in a plenary format, followed by a retreat session.

According to her, the SOM serves to prepare for the summit, including finalizing draft outcome documents from the leaders’ meeting. This year’s summit carries the theme “Navigating Our Future Together” and will be held in Cebu.

She added that this year’s summit will differ from previous ones. Several agenda items, such as engagements with business leaders, parliamentarians, and youth groups, have been removed, with discussions instead focusing on the impact of global conflicts—particularly in the Middle East—on the ASEAN region.

“The issues to be discussed include energy security, food security, and regional economic stability,” she said. As host, the Philippines is also expected to invite Masato Kanda, President of the Asian Development Bank, as a guest of the chair to present the latest global economic outlook.

In addition, ASEAN foreign ministers are scheduled to attend four key meetings: the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the ASEAN Political-Security Community Council, the ASEAN Coordinating Council, and a joint meeting of ASEAN Foreign and Economic Ministers. Ina noted that the summit is expected to produce around 24 outcome documents, with a key focus on maintaining regional stability and resilience, particularly in economic development.

“The most important document to be highlighted by the Philippines relates to maintaining regional stability and resilience, especially in economic development,” she said.

Regarding external cooperation, Ina also mentioned ongoing discussions on strengthening economic cooperation between ASEAN and Russia, which had been raised during a SOM meeting in Kazan. However, she emphasized that ASEAN still faces disparities in development levels among its members, including least developed countries grouped under CLMT (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Timor-Leste).