The Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia will host the ASEAN Higher Education Ministers’ Roundtable: Envisioning the Next Decade and Beyond on 19 June 2025 in Langkawi, bringing together top education leaders from across Southeast Asia to chart a transformative path for regional higher education.
Held under the umbrella of the #EduRoundtables2025 initiative, the event will gather ministers and senior officials from ASEAN member states, Timor-Leste, Myanmar, and the ASEAN Secretariat. The roundtable aims to adopt the ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Higher Education: Towards an Inclusive, Sustainable and Prosperous ASEAN, a new blueprint that will succeed the 2015 Kuala Lumpur Declaration and guide regional cooperation in higher education for the next decade.
“This declaration reflects our shared commitment to elevate the quality, accessibility, and global relevance of ASEAN’s higher education systems,” said Malaysia’s Higher Education Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Zambry Abdul Kadir, during a media briefing in Putrajaya.
A key highlight of the roundtable will be the advancement of the ASEAN Global Exchange Mobility and Scholarship (ASEAN-GEMS) initiative, endorsed earlier this year by the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting on Education (SOM-ED). Spearheaded by Malaysia through Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS), ASEAN-GEMS proposes an Intra-ASEAN Scholarship Programme to facilitate seamless student mobility, cultural exchange, and diplomatic exposure across member states.
The 8th Meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Higher Education Mobility (AWGHEM) has also prioritized ASEAN-GEMS and the new declaration as central agenda items for the Langkawi roundtable.
In the lead-up to the event, the Madani Rakyat 2025 programme will take place from 13–15 June in Lumut, Perak, under the theme Higher Education as the Driver of a Madani Nation. The programme, to be officiated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, will showcase the contributions of universities, polytechnics, and community colleges to national development.
This roundtable marks a pivotal moment in ASEAN’s education diplomacy, reinforcing Malaysia’s leadership in shaping a more connected, resilient, and forward-looking regional academic ecosystem.
