Kuala Lumpur, 18 September 2025 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has confirmed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the 47th ASEAN Summit, scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur from October 26-28, 2025. This comes amid expectations of broader international participation at the summit, signaling Malaysia’s rising diplomatic profile under its ASEAN chairmanship.
Anwar has said that more foreign leaders will join the gathering, following the success of previous ASEAN hostings. He emphasised that Malaysia is well under way preparing the event, with government agencies already mobilised to ensure security, protocol, and logistics meet the standards expected for such high-level diplomacy.
While Modi’s attendance had been anticipated—he has regularly taken part in ASEAN meetings in past years—official confirmation from India is still awaited. Still, Anwar expressed optimism, saying that strong participation by world leaders will amplify Malaysia’s platform for addressing regional challenges. Among the issues expected to be high on the agenda are economic integration, trade and tariff concerns, geopolitical stability, and potentially bilateral meetings between heads of state on the sidelines of the summit.
As chair of ASEAN in 2025, Malaysia has made “Inclusivity & Sustainability” central themes of its stewardship. Anwar’s confirmation of Modi’s participation adds diplomatic heft to those priorities, potentially enabling deeper collaborations between ASEAN and India on areas like climate action, digital trade, and sustainable infrastructure.
