The Malaysia-Austria and ASEAN-EU Nexus
AIES Senior Advisor Alfred Gerstl as guest panellist
Jun 05, 2025 / Vienna / Indo-Pacific
Alfred Gerstl, Senior Advisor and Board Member of the AIES, took part in a panel discussion on ‘The Malaysia-Austria and ASEAN-EU Nexus’ at the Vienna School of International Studies on 5 June. Other participants included Ikram Bin Mohd Ibrahim, the Malaysian Ambassador to Austria, and Bita Rasoulian, Head of the Asia-Pacific Department at the Austrian Foreign Ministry.
The participants emphasised the close relations between Malaysia and Austria on the one hand and ASEAN and the EU on the other, especially in the economic field. They also emphasised that strengthening the rules-based multilateral order is a key concern for all these actors in light of the great power policies of the US and China. They saw potential for further deepening relations between Europe and Southeast Asia, particularly in trade and security policy.