Bridging ASEAN and the Gulf Cooperation Council: Why People-to-People Connectivity Matters

The 2nd ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit and the inaugural ASEAN-GCC-China Summit held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 26 to 27 May 2025, marked a significant step towards deepening ties between ASEAN and the GCC. While inter-regional cooperation is often framed in terms of energy, trade, and investment, the foundations of this relationship are increasingly shaped by people-to-people connectivity, anchored in labour migration, religious devotion, and growing financial linkages. As fast-growing regions, ASEAN and the GCC are forming deeper ties shaped as much by daily human interactions as by strategic interests.

According to an estimate, the total workforce across the six GCC countries — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — stood at around 32 million in 2022. Gulf nationals account for 5.8 million, or 18 per cent of this figure, with foreign workers accounting for over 26 million. While comprehensive and up-to-date data on the total number of ASEAN citizens working in the GCC is limited, available figures serve as important reference points, highlighting the GCC’s significance as a destination for ASEAN labour migrants and a key source of remittances.

Saudi Arabia, the largest country in the GCC, employed approximately 726,000 Filipinos, 175,000 Indonesians, and 164,000 Burmese, according to its 2022 census. Meanwhile, the UAE, the second-largest country in the region, hosted around 780,000 Filipinos in 2024. Kuwait, although relatively small, is a popular destination for migrant workers, with over 223,000 Filipinos residing there as of 2024. Most of these migrant workers are employed in sectors such as domestic work, healthcare, and construction. 

Recognising the structural importance of this labour flow, ASEAN and GCC member states have sought to institutionalise protection mechanisms through bilateral agreements. For example, the 2017 labour agreement between Saudi Arabia and the Philippines outlines standards for recruitment and employment practices to ensure the rights and welfare of Filipino workers. Indonesia, which had imposed a moratorium on worker placements to Saudi Arabia since 2015 due to frequent cases of abuse, is now preparing to lift the suspension by June 2025. This follows a renewed agreement to strengthen worker protection, including a minimum wage, health and life insurance, and digital integration of recruitment data to monitor irregular practices and improve oversight.

These developments show a clear trend: labour governance is becoming a core part of ASEAN-GCC cooperation. Both sides are moving from ad hoc arrangements to a more structured approach focused on rights, protections, and shared responsibility. This marks a more mature and balanced partnership.

Considering these trends, cooperation between ASEAN and the GCC is likely to continue gaining traction as both sides recognise the benefits arising from deep people-to-people connections.

Religious devotion also plays a part in people-to-people connectivity. The annual hajj pilgrimage and umrah to Mecca in Saudi Arabia are a powerful conduit for deepening people-to-people ties between Southeast Asia and the GCC. Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, was allocated a hajj quota of 221,000 in 2025, underscoring its central role in the global Islamic community. Malaysia, too, maintains a strong presence, supported by long-standing government subsidy schemes that help lower- and middle-income citizens undertake the pilgrimage.

Saudi Arabia’s Makkah Route Initiative, launched in 2018 and expanded in recent years, has further institutionalised these religious linkages. The programme enables pilgrims to complete immigration, health, and customs procedures at departure airports in their home countries, allowing for seamless entry upon arrival. In 2024, Indonesians and Malaysians accounted for 49 per cent of those processed through this fast-track system.

Beyond its spiritual significance, the pilgrimage generates substantial economic spillover. Air carriers in ASEAN capitals such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, and Singapore benefit from increased seasonal traffic to Jeddah, the main gateway to Mecca. Meanwhile, bilateral cooperation in travel facilitation and logistics strengthens transport and consular coordination. Pilgrimage-related services, from catering and accommodation to medical support, create demand for businesses across sectors. Moreover, many umrah pilgrims take the opportunity to travel beyond Saudi Arabia, providing tourism revenue to other GCC states such as the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain. In this way, the pilgrimage not only sustains long-standing religious connections but also fuels broader economic connectivity.

There are also growing financial linkages. According to the IE Sovereign Wealth Research Ranking, 23 sovereign wealth institutions from ASEAN and the GCC are ranked among the top 104 globally (see Table 1). Together, they manage approximately US$6.42 trillion in assets, accounting for approximately 48 per cent of the total assets under management (AUM) held by the world’s leading sovereign wealth funds. This concentration of capital will become a key driver of deeper financial ties between the two regions.

Table 1. Top Sovereign Wealth Funds in ASEAN (+Timor Leste) and the GCC

As ASEAN and the GCC work towards a trade and investment agreement, it will signal to sovereign wealth funds the opportunity to play a greater role in reinforcing inter-regional capital flows. Investments by ASEAN and GCC sovereign wealth funds are expected to increasingly focus on infrastructure, clean energy, logistics, and technology, sectors that align with both regions’ economic diversification agendas.

The mobility of financial professionals between ASEAN and the GCC is expected to deepen and warrants greater facilitation. For instance, Singapore’s GIC and Temasek, two of the country’s leading sovereign wealth funds, maintain offices and active portfolios across the Middle East. Although formal data on cross-regional professional movement remains limited, anecdotal evidence points to a growing presence of financial and legal professionals from Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia in Dubai and Riyadh’s expanding financial sectors. The same also applies vice versa. Though few in number, finance professionals from both regions play pivotal roles in transnational networks, facilitating deal flows and institutional connectivity. They also contribute to cross-border knowledge exchange in fintech, Islamic finance, and Environmental, Social, and Governance investing.

Considering these trends, cooperation between ASEAN and the GCC is likely to continue gaining traction as both sides recognise the benefits arising from deep people-to-people connections. To strengthen these linkages further, ASEAN and GCC governments should enhance frameworks for labour rights, financial professional mobility, and religious travel facilitation by adopting more transparent and harmonised standards.

2025/210