Malaysia Leads ASEAN 2025

Vision, Priorities, Partnerships

- 

At a seminar organised by the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) in New Delhi on April 14, 2025, H.E. Dato’ Muzafar Shah Mustafa, High Commissioner of Malaysia to the Republic of India, spoke about the course of India’s Act East Policy (AEP) and its impact on ASEAN-India relations. As Malaysia officially assumed the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for 2025, his remarks offered both a retrospective and forward-looking lens on regional cooperation.

Act East Policy: A Strategic Shift in India’s Foreign Policy

Since its launch in 2014, the Act East Policy has emerged as a “cornerstone of India’s foreign policy,” evolving beyond its predecessor, the Look East Policy, to become a proactive strategy engaging ASEAN and the Indo-Pacific region more broadly. “We applaud the momentum and positive dynamism fostered by the Act East Policy,” the High Commissioner stated, highlighting India’s “consistent support for ASEAN centrality and neutrality in the evolving regional architecture.”