What happened on Day 1 of the 47th Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur?

Oct. 26 was the first day of the 47th Asean Summit, held in Kuala Lumpur and chaired by Malaysia.

In what’s probably Asean’s busiest single day in a long while, it saw the inclusion of a new member, a peace deal, new trade agreements, and many world leaders descended on the bloc.

Here’s a snapshot of what happened on Day 1.

Timor-Leste joins Asean

Timor-Leste completed a journey it first set out on in 2011 by formally joining Asean, becoming its 11th member.

Membership moved several Timorese delegates at the summit to tears, not least of all their prime minister, Xanana Gusmao.

FIFA Asean Cup

It joins in time to be part of the newly announced FIFA Asean Cup, revealed onstage with FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

Infantino had spent much of the day meeting with prominent Malaysian and Asean figures, including Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim, and Crown Prince of Johor Tunku Ismail.

The new competition’s format has yet to be decided, with CNA suggesting that it would take inspiration from the current FIFA Arab Cup model.

Peace

Perhaps the most notable foreign visitor of the day was United States President Donald Trump, who presided over the signing of an enhanced ceasefire agreement between Thailand and Cambodia.

The agreement, named the Kuala Lumpur Accords, was signed by Thai PM Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian PM Hun Manet, in a ceremony observed by Trump and Anwar.

Anwar had met Trump on the tarmac when he arrived, and joined him in a dance as Trump took in the pomp and circumstance of his welcome.

Trump would hail the peace deal as a “monumental step” and praise Anwar heavily for the role he played in facilitating both the initial and current deals.

Trump said that the U.S. was "100 per cent behind Southeast Asia, and will remain a strong and reliable partner for generations to come."

Cambodia's PM Hun Manet said that Trump had "saved lives" and that he had nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The BBC, however, opined that the new deal “isn’t much of a leap forward”, although it acknowledged that it was “progress”.

Trade

Trump followed up the peace ceremony by signing new trade deals with the participants.

The U.S. Trade Representative announced that a deal had been signed with Cambodia, which saw it drop all of its tariffs on U.S. industrial and Agricultural products.

Thailand agreed to drop 99 per cent of those tariffs, and Malaysia also committed to significant "preferential market access for U.S. products” in several sectors.

However, all three nations retained a 19 per cent tariff rate imposed on them by the U.S.

An agreement in principle was also reached with Vietnam.

Different trade

But while trade with the U.S. was subject to different tariffs, Asean continued its own mission of further integrating economically.

The bloc’s leaders gathered to watch the handing over ceremony of the Second Protocol to Amend the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA).

The upgraded ATIGA removes between 5,000 and 7,000 non-tariff barriers between Asean states, and is expected to “reach over 99 per cent openness in regional trade flows, according to Bernama.

Leaders

The day saw leaders from all over the world come to attend the summit, with the leaders of Canada, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand all arriving throughout the day.

Singapore's PM Lawrence Wong had bilateral meetings with Brazil's President Lula Da Silva, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. The latter will host PM Wong when he attends the G20 summit in Johannesburg in November, whereas the former had met him when he attended 2024's G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Perhaps most notable was the arrival of the newly installed PM of Japan, Sanae Takaichi, marking her first international trip in her new role.

Takaichi attended the 28th Asean-Japan summit, pledging to strengthen cooperation on maritime security, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity, according to The Japan Times.

Her visit was packed, but brief; having arrived in the morning, she departed before 10 pm to return to Japan, where she will prepare to meet with *checks notes* Donald Trump, who is on his first visit to Asia since his reelection.

What a coincidence.

Top image via Primeiro-Ministro RDTL: Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão/Facebook, gianni_infantino/Instagram, The White House/X, & Lawrence Wong/X,