ASEAN - with its population of 620 million people - can offer GCC a ready market for energy exports, for instance, and a reliable supply of raw materials, among others.
And beyond dollars and cents, the ties between their people should be strengthened as well.
The Middle East and South-east Asia, said Mr Shanmugam, have strong historical roots. Trade between the regions goes back to the ninth century, and Arab sailors and merchants brought Islam to South-east Asian shores, where it is now the faith of 40 per cent of the region's population.