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The consequences of the Middle East conflict could extend beyond immediate headlines by disrupting global energy markets, driving up prices and creating long-term economic uncertainty, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned Wednesday.
Speaking at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers’ meeting in Manila, Kallas said the effects were being felt across the global economy, with Southeast Asia facing particularly sharp pressure.
“Conflict in the Middle East has thrown global energy markets into disarray, and the consequences will outlast the headlines,” Kallas said.
Fuel, fertilizer, food and freight prices are rising simultaneously, pushing inflation higher and weighing on economic growth, she added.
“Every economy feels this, but few as sharply as Southeast Asia,” Kallas said.
Kallas also drew attention to the humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
“The dire situation in Gaza merits all our support,” she said.
She reiterated the EU’s support for Ukraine and stressed the bloc’s determination to strengthen its defense readiness in response to Russia.
Kallas urged ASEAN countries to join calls for Moscow to stop the fighting and participate seriously in negotiations toward a ceasefire and a just and lasting peace.
“I ask you to join our calls to Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine and engage in talks genuinely to reach a ceasefire and then just and lasting peace,” she said.
“It is exactly at moments like this that partnerships like ours stop being nice to have and become essential,” Kallas added.
Kallas said the EU had long been a reliable partner to ASEAN and was becoming increasingly active as cooperation between the two blocs expanded.
“The EU has long been a reliable partner to ASEAN. It is now becoming an increasingly active one, and this will only increase as our partnership grows,” she said.
Brunei, which coordinates relations between ASEAN and the EU, said the increasingly complex global environment required strong partnerships because countries could achieve more together than by acting alone.
It said ASEAN and the EU were well positioned to use their partnership to advance shared interests and deliver tangible benefits for their populations.
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