Indonesian FM outlines three main focuses for 2023 ASEAN Summit

Padang, The Gulf Observer: Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has said that there will be three main focuses of the 2023 ASEAN Summit.

“First, we want to lay a strong foundation for the vision of ASEAN 2045,” she informed in a video recording, which was played at Andalas University in Padang, West Sumatra, on Monday.

Amid the global turmoil, ASEAN must have the capacity to face future challenges, she said. The organization must also be able to make decisions in emergency situations.

Therefore, the ASEAN Concord is planned to be decided as the foundation for the organization’s long-term vision for 2045. This foundation will continue to be echoed during Indonesia’s chairmanship of ASEAN this year, she added.

The minister informed that the second focus will be strengthening Southeast Asia’s position as the epicenter of economic growth.

This is considering that ASEAN has strong capital with a population of more than 650 million, economic growth that is above the global average, and it is relatively peaceful and stable.

According to Marsudi, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has described Southeast Asia as one of the drivers of world economic growth.

ASEAN has also been rated by the OECD as the region with the best economic opportunities. According to a survey conducted by the EU-ASEAN Business Sentiment, which was released on August 1, 2023, the European Union’s trust in ASEAN is still very high, she disclosed.

“We must continue to maintain this positive situation. In order to become a center of economic growth, ASEAN must be more resilient in facing future challenges,” she added.

She said that through the ASEAN Summit, Indonesia is determined to maintain the resilience of member countries in the fields of food, energy, health, climate change, finance, and human resource capacity.

As for the third focus, she emphasized that Indonesia’s priority during its ASEAN chairmanship is to encourage the implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) or ASEAN’s views on the Indo-Pacific.

She said that over the last five decades, ASEAN has built an inclusive regional architecture, and the bloc has emerged as a leader in terms of stability, peace, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

“In the midst of increasingly sharp rivalries, Indonesia continues to push for concrete and inclusive cooperation with all ASEAN partners,” she added.

The 2023 ASEAN Summit will take place from September 5–7 at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), Central Jakarta.