The Twenty-Eighth ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Plus Three Consultation was held on 24 September 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Consultation was co-chaired by H.E. Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Aziz, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry of Malaysia; H.E. Yan Dong, Vice Minister of Commerce of China; H.E. Muto Yoji, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, and H.E. Han-Koo Yeo, Minister for Trade, Industry and Energy of Republic of Korea. The Meeting also welcomed H.E. Filipus Nino Pereira, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to the Meeting as an observer.
The Meeting noted that based on ASEAN’s preliminary statistics, the total two-way trade between ASEAN and the Plus Three Countries recorded an increase of 7.3 percent, rising from a total value of USD 1.134 trillion in 2023 to USD 1.217 trillion in 2024. Meanwhile, total foreign direct investment (FDI) flows from the Plus Three Countries into ASEAN, increased by 31.5 percent, from USD 33.7 billion in 2023 to USD 44.4 billion in 2024, accounting for 19.7 percent of total FDI inflows into ASEAN.
