Thirteen leaders from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met Oct. 20 in Riyadh to set a road map for their cooperation amid the backdrop of the Israel-Gaza war and an increasingly uncertain regional security environment.

The summit is part of an emerging collective dubbed the "Asia minus China" strategy, which focuses on creating additional connectivity nodes and enhancing trade relations outside of China in order to reduce political risks associated with the Washington-Beijing standoff. In parallel, Riyadh’s role as host of the summit carries potent symbolism as Saudi Arabia continues to advance its position as a high-growth, high-potential G20 economy and ambitious global player. 

In the current era of deglobalization, geopolitical instability and economic uncertainties, the GCC and ASEAN find themselves sharing more strategic commonalities. In the GCC countries, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are diversifying their partnerships away from the West and pivoting further to the East, where the center of the emerging world order is shifting. In the ASEAN, Indonesia and Vietnam are pursuing their own pathways in this era of intense competition in the Indo-Pacific. 

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