Indonesia continues to finalize preparations for the 43rd ASEAN Summit (Summit) which will be held on 5-7 September 2023 in Jakarta. A number of heads of state from ASEAN countries and partner countries are planned to attend. The 43rd Summit will discuss the development and strengthening of ASEAN cooperation with external partners.
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) revealed that Indonesia is ready to hold the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta. President Jokowi also hopes that everything regarding the summit will be ready when it is held. Regarding the presence of leaders of ASEAN partner countries, the process is still ongoing, including the presence of the President of the United States, Joe Biden.
However, what is most important for President Jokowi at this summit is that the problems in Myanmar can be resolved quickly because they concern humanity and the people of Myanmar. According to President Jokowi, the issue in Myanmar is very complex because the conflict has involved many parties.
Myanmar’s problem is not easy, it is very complex, the conflict is not one with two, but with many parties, so it takes time and this can happen if all stakeholders in Myanmar have the same will to resolve the problem and implement the Five Points . Consensus on conflict resolution in Myanmar. Apart from that, ASEAN solidity and regional stability are also important to face global challenges and realize ASEAN as a center for growth.
All ASEAN members are encouraged to reaffirm their determination to make Southeast Asia a peaceful and prosperous region. Even though the current global dynamics are not easy, the President believes ASEAN will be able to overcome these challenges. The demographic bonus and world confidence in ASEAN as the region with the best economic opportunities are currently strong assets for ASEAN to become the epicenter of economic growth. For this reason, the President encouraged that this momentum be put to good use.
This positive momentum should be utilized to make ASEAN the future of the world, making ASEAN an anchor of peace, an anchor of stability and an anchor of world prosperity.
Therefore, Indonesia is expected to bring an agenda to resume negotiations on the establishment of a code of conduct ( CoC ) for parties to disputes in the South China Sea. The establishment of the CoC is a mandate from the Declaration of Conduct (DoC) which was agreed upon by ASEAN and China at the ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh in 2002.
With the success of the 2023 ASEAN Summit series, it increasingly shows that Indonesia has a strategic role in leading the regional architecture that can concretely provide benefits to regional and global communities and make the ASEAN region the world’s engine of sustainable growth.
Indonesia’s chairmanship at the 43rd ASEAN Summit is expected to produce a concrete formulation at the level of implementation and operationalization of the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP), bearing in mind that the Indo-Pacific is a very strategic region, so that the resulting formulation can be comprehensive from a security approach, economy, and development so that creative economic activities, digital economy business and investment, and infrastructure and others can support sustainable development.
The most important thing is that the media is expected to be able to disseminate the benefits of the 43rd ASEAN Summit to the public properly, so that people can understand, understand and benefit from the ASEAN Summit. Through reporting, it is hoped that information on all the pillars on the agenda of the government and ASEAN will be well received by the public.
There are a number of benefits from ASEAN chairmanship for Indonesia, both in the economic field and at the regional and global levels. In the economic field, the ASEAN Summit will drive the wheels of the national economy in a number of cities in Indonesia, become a momentum to show Indonesia’s development progress, and become an attraction for foreign investment to the country.
Regionally and globally, there is an increase (recognition) by the world for Indonesia’s ability to lead the regional architecture through the management of intra-ASEAN economic cooperation and regional partners. Meanwhile, the benefits at the regional level are preparing the ASEAN community in strengthening economic recovery and making Southeast Asia a driver of sustainable world growth.
It is appropriate for us to support Indonesia’s chairmanship of ASEAN by upholding the values of solidarity with a spirit of optimism and cooperation, by building multi- stakeholder collaborative governance to ensure the success of the 2023 ASEAN Summit from a technical and substantive perspective so that the goal is to realize an ASEAN that is resilient to various crisis shocks. and ASEAN which can bring benefits to the people of Southeast Asia and the world can be realized. We hope that Indonesia’s chairmanship at the 2023 ASEAN Summit can encourage the wheels of the national economy in various cities where the series of side events will be held. The 2023 ASEAN Summit is also a momentum to show Indonesia’s economic progress which continues to grow and is resilient amidst the storm of crisis so that Indonesia is worthy of becoming a business area that can attract foreign investment.
