US-ASEAN Business Council Launches 7th Edition of “ASEAN Matters for America, America Matters for ASEAN” at ABIS 2025 

Kuala Lumpur – The US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) hosted a launch for the 7^th edition of “ASEAN Matters for America, America Matters for ASEAN” at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ABIS) in Kuala Lumpur on October 25^th, 2025. This flagship publication is a collaboration between USABC, the East-West Center in Washington, and the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

The 7^th edition of ASEAN Matters maps the trade, investment, employment, business, diplomacy, security, education, tourism, and people-to-people connections between the United States and the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the national, state, and local levels. The publication was produced with the generous support of AIG, Atlas Air Worldwide, Micron Technology, Citi, Freeport-McMoRan, and Zuellig Pharma. ​

“At this pivotal time for U.S.-ASEAN economic relations, USABC is proud to launch this timely report underlining the region’s significance with a comprehensive collection of facts and figures,” said Ambassador Brian McFeeters, Interim CEO and President of USABC. “For instance, U.S.-ASEAN trade has surged to $553 billion annually, with ASEAN now America’s 4^th largest export market. Furthermore, ASEAN is projected to become the world's 4^th largest economy by 2030. For those of us who have spent our lives and careers working in Southeast Asia, we need no convincing that ASEAN matters. We know what the opportunities are, but it is incumbent on us to share this information with others, including global policymakers and business leaders. ‘ASEAN Matters’ is an unparalleled resource we can use to bolster this message.”

The launch was held on the margins of the ASEAN Business & Investment Summit (ABIS) 2025, which convened officials from the Malaysian government, the U.S. government, the private sector, the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, and regional experts as part of the events surrounding the 2025 ASEAN Summit.

The launch event featured remarks from Amb. Brian McFeeters and a message from the President of the East-West Center, Ms. Celeste A. Connors. This was followed by a hand-over of the report from USABC to Datuk Sikh Shamsul Ibrahim Sikh Abdul Majid, CEO of Malaysian Investment Development Agency and Amb. Haznah Md. Hashim, Under Secretary for Americas, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malaysia. Ms. Joy M. Sakurai, Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Mission to ASEAN, provided closing remarks, echoing the importance of ASEAN to America and the valuable contribution made by this report.

The 7^th edition of “ASEAN Matters for America, America Matters for ASEAN” is available via the following link. ​