Jakarta – In an atmosphere full of enthusiasm and hope, President Joko Widodo, who is familiarly called President Jokowi, presided over the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta. Previously, President Jokowi firmly expressed his optimism that the ASEAN Summit would inspire optimism and collaboration among countries in the Southeast Asian region.
In his speech which was greeted enthusiastically by the leaders of countries and governments from ASEAN members as well as specially invited guests, President Jokowi emphasized that ASEAN has unlimited potential to create a brighter and more stable future. He expressed his belief that by uniting and working together, ASEAN countries can overcome challenges and create new opportunities for growth and progress.
“We have experienced many things together during the more than four decades that ASEAN has existed. Today, I want to emphasize that we have great reasons for optimism. We have overcome various obstacles together and achieved extraordinary achievements. “This is not the final limit, but rather a stronger beginning,” said President Jokowi with full confidence.
“We are aware that the world is not feeling well, the challenges in the future are getting tougher and this will result in a struggle for influence by the big powers,” said Jokowi.
“Don’t make our ASEAN ship an arena of rivalries that destroy each other but make this ASEAN ship a field to grow cooperation to create prosperity, create stability, create peace not only for the region but also for the world,” Jokowi continued.
President Jokowi also highlighted the importance of building a culture of closer and deeper cooperation among ASEAN countries. He invited leaders to support each other in facing global challenges such as pandemics, climate change and inequality. In this context, he underlined the importance of innovation, technology and economic renewal to achieve common goals.
President Joko Widodo chaired the 26th ASEAN-China Summit meeting which discussed strengthening economic cooperation and strengthening infrastructure development.
The 43rd ASEAN Summit is expected to be an important milestone in efforts to strengthen solidarity and cooperation in the Southeast Asia region. Various strategic agendas and crucial issues will be discussed, with the aim of producing effective solutions and concrete action steps.
This series of summits also provides an opportunity for leaders to forge deeper bilateral relations, build diplomatic networks, and strengthen economic and trade cooperation.