At the 47th ASEAN Summit and related summits from October 26 to 28, South African President Ramaphosa and Brazilian President Lula were guests from developing countries. South Africa has become ASEAN's "field dialogue partner" since 2023. Ramaphosa's participation is seen as an important opportunity to strengthen political, economic and multilateral cooperation with Southeast Asia. Lula's participation is the first time that Latin American countries have been invited to participate in the ASEAN Summit.

Local time 25 October 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (right) met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim Map/Visual China

On the occasion of the ASEAN Summit, the two key developing countries¡¯ leaders visited several Southeast Asian countries. According to China News Network, Ramaphosa made an official visit to Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia on 22-28 October to further deepen relations between South Africa and Southeast Asia and promote South-South cooperation and inclusive development. His Southeast Asian visit began in Jakarta, Indonesia. Ramaphosa held talks with Indonesian President Prabhupada, focusing on trade, agriculture, tourism and defense cooperation. Later, Ramaphosa went to Hanoi, Vietnam for a state visit. This visit coincided with the 80th anniversary of Vietnam¡¯s independence, with a focus on promoting trade diversification, industrial cooperation and education exchanges.

On October 25, 2025 local time, Brazilian President Lula (left) and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim held a bilateral meeting and shook hands at the Malaysian Prime Minister's official residence in Putrajaya on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia/Vision China

According to the Brazilian news agency, Lula left for Southeast Asia on October 21st, visiting Indonesia and Malaysia. The Brazilian government said that the main objectives of this trip include strengthening political ties with countries in the region and expanding bilateral trade. Everton Frask Lucero, Director of India, South and Southeast Asia Department of Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at the pre-departure press conference: "This is the first time that the Brazilian President has attended the ASEAN Summit as a guest. From an economic point of view, 11 countries, including East Timor, which is about to join ASEAN, have a total population of more than 680 million and a combined GDP of about 4 trillion US dollars. Overall, this will constitute the third largest population and fourth largest economy in the world.

He also stressed that Brazil¡¯s trade with ASEAN countries last year exceeded $37 billion and continued to grow. If ASEAN were to be viewed as a single economy, it would become Brazil¡¯s fifth largest trading partner, after China, the EU, the United States and Argentina. In the context of global trade protectionism and increased unilateral tariffs, ASEAN is expected to provide more opportunities for Brazil¡¯s exports. According to the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs data, ASEAN countries accounted for more than 20% of Brazil¡¯s global trade surplus last year, with a surplus of $15.5 billion.

Lula said in an interview with a Vietnamese news agency that Brazil is a key strategic partner in securing food security for ASEAN¡¯s 6.2 billion people. As one of the world¡¯s largest exporters of animal protein and cereals, Brazil has unique advantages to meet ASEAN¡¯s growing import demand.

¡°Global South¡± is an important topic during the two leaders¡¯ visits to Southeast Asia.Prabowo also said that the visit was an important opportunity to further strengthen Indonesian-South African diplomatic relations and opened new spaces for the two countries to engage in closer strategic cooperation in the future.Prabowo also said that Indonesia and South Africa are important countries in the ¡°Global South¡± and that the two countries have had a shared experience in history of opposing colonialism and struggling for national independence.He admired the South African people¡¯s strength, ideals and courage in the process of opposing segregation, pursuing freedom and justice. At the joint press conference, Prabowo said that the two countries agreed to accelerate the implementation of the defence cooperation agreement signed by the two countries in 2023, and

On October 25, 2025 local time, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, before the 47th ASEAN Summit, the logo of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)/vision china

Lula¡¯s visit to Indonesia was a return visit to Prabhupada following the 17th BRICS Summit in July this year. On October 23, Lula attended the closing ceremony of the Economic and Trade Forum of Indonesian and Brazilian business representatives, with a Brazilian delegation alone expected to attend about 100 entrepreneurs. According to the Asia Times, Lula¡¯s visit to Indonesia resulted in the signing of eight Memorandums of Understanding for a total of $6 billion, covering trade, key mineral cooperation, defence industrial links and agricultural exchanges. This is considered to be the reflection of the deepening ¡°South-South cooperation¡± between the world¡¯s two major emerging markets. Brazil seeks to expand partnerships in Asia, while Indonesia hopes to create jobs through industrial cooperation, develop downstream processing and technology transfer

On October 24, Lula met with ASEAN Secretary-General Gokingva in Jakarta, Indonesia, where ASEAN headquarters is located. Lula said Brazil was striving to become an ASEAN ¡°full member¡± and ¡°Brazil has the same face as the ASEAN countries.¡± However, Indonesian media noted that ASEAN membership status is currently only applicable to countries in Southeast Asia, including 11 countries, including the newly joined East Timor. Neighbouring country Papua New Guinea has the status of an observer state, but its application for membership is still to be discussed at the ASEAN Summit.

At the ASEAN Summit held in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, Lula and Ramaphosa also held the chairmanship of the BRICS countries and the chairmanship of the G20 respectively. According to the Malaysian media "Sin Chew Daily", on October 25, Ramaphosa attended the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit and said that South Africa hopes to expand trade and investment exchanges with ASEAN, learn from each other and share knowledge. ¡°When I came, I saw the faces of many people in the business world, and more importantly, I smelled the smell of money.He quipped.

Lula held a joint press conference with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar on the 25th. Lula spoke of the situation in Ukraine and the Palestinian situation in Gaza and blamed the UN Security Council for failing to fulfill its duty to maintain world peace. Lula also said that governance is not power but service, and is centered on taking care of the people, especially the vulnerable and poor groups. These ideas and phrases are in line with Anwar, the leader of the ¡°Champagne¡± concept. Lula also said that this is the first time Latin American countries have been invited to participate in the ASEAN Summit, which is of great significance.

Anwar and Lula also witnessed the exchange ceremony of a series of memoranda on the 25th, including semiconductors, science and technology and innovation, international relations research, cultural and educational activities and other fields. In bilateral trade, Malaysia's exports include electrical and electronic products, palm oil, rubber and halal medicines, while its imports include ores, processed foods and petroleum products. In 2024, Brazil will be Malaysia's second largest trading partner in Latin America.