A decade since its last tenure, Malaysia will officially assume the ASEAN chairmanship on Jan 1, 2025, positioning it as a key focus on the national agenda for the year.
As the host of major ASEAN meetings, Malaysia will launch its chairmanship with the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat in Langkawi in January.
This will be followed by the 46th ASEAN Summit and the ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council(GCC)-China Summit in Kuala Lumpur and the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) in Penang scheduled for May.
Additional key events include the ASEAN Economic Ministers Retreat in Johor (February), the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting (AMM) and Post-Ministerial Conference (PMC) in Kuala Lumpur (July), the ASEAN SOM in Negeri Sembilan, and the much-anticipated 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur (October).
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim previously stated that the chairmanship provides an excellent opportunity to steer the bloc towards achieving the ASEAN Community Vision 2045.
He emphasised Malaysia’s commitment to shaping a more resilient, innovative, and people-centric ASEAN.
With the 2025 theme of "Inclusivity and Sustainability," Malaysia is poised to host over 300 ASEAN-related meetings, programmes, and summits throughout the year.
Malaysia assumed the ASEAN chairmanship in 1977, 1997, 2005, and 2015.
Additionally, the 54th Executive Board Meeting of the Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) will take place in February, hosted by the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama).
Bernama hosted the Executive Board Meeting in 2015 with the theme ‘Social Media and Challenges Confronting News Agencies’.
Formed in 1961, OANA is a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) initiative to ensure the direct and unrestricted exchange of news among the agencies in a region that is home to more than half of the world’s population.
The year 2025 will also mark the return of the biennial Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition, with its 17th edition scheduled from May 20 to 24.
With the theme "Innovate Today, Thrive Tomorrow," LIMA '25 will introduce several new segments to attract greater participation from small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly in the aerospace and maritime sectors.
At the state level, Selangor, Kedah, and Perlis will host their 2025 Visit Selangor, Visit Kedah, and Visit Perlis campaigns, respectively, to highlight their tourism attractions, creating new economic opportunities.
Whereas Melaka will host the 2025 World Tourism Day and the World Tourism Conference, as a platform to promote Visit Malaysia Year 2026.
Over in Sabah, the 17th state election will be held following the expiration of the current government's term in October 2025. The election must take place within 60 days after the dissolution of the state assembly.
Other notable events of the year include the celebration of National Journalists' Day (HAWANA) in May and the tabling of the 2026 Budget in October.