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Asean aims for more investments from GCC nations as US tariffs spur diversification

Southeast Asian economies have signalled their readiness to allow more investments from the Gulf region in sectors such as technology, artificial intelligence and renewable energy, as they look to diversify growth and shield themselves from the impact of US tariffs.

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In return, the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is seeking partners beyond the Middle East to tap its oil wealth as part of its efforts to play a greater role in global growth.

Southeast Asia’s economies have been reeling since April, when US President Donald Trump announced sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs to be imposed on Washington’s global trade partners. With their exports to the world’s largest economy expected to slow, Asean members have been lobbying Washington for relief from tariffs of up to 49 per cent, ahead of an early July deadline.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is this year’s Asean chair, said on Tuesday that the Asean-GCC Summit came at a crucial time when both regions “navigate an increasingly complex global landscape marked by economic uncertainty and geopolitical challenges”.

The GCC was the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ seventh-largest trading partner in 2023, with bilateral trade totalling US$130.7 billion, he said.

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“A transition in the geopolitical order is under way” with multilateralism “breaking apart at the seams” under rising US protectionism, Anwar warned on Monday.

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