The ASEAN Summit or ASEAN Summit 2023 will be held in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara. Indonesia’s leadership in a number of international events, including this year’s ASEAN Summit, is a momentum to demonstrate Indonesia’s economic resilience.
ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) was founded on August 8, 1967 in Thailand. There are five ASEAN founding countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Until 2022, ASEAN members will be added by six other countries, namely the six countries in question are Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Timor Leste, bringing a total of eleven member countries.
Indonesia received the mandate as the chair of ASEAN in 2023 so that it became the host of the ASEAN Summit, which this year was held in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara. Apart from Labuan Bajo this May, the ASEAN Summit will also be held in Jakarta in September 2023.
The Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said that Indonesia carries the big theme “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth”. This at the same time resonates or echoes the success of Indonesia’s G20 Presidency in 2022.
The G20 presidency in the midst of various global challenges has won appreciation and trust from many countries, where the Government has also continued to encourage ASEAN to become a stable and peaceful region to become the anchor of global economic stability.
Indonesia is indeed ready to welcome the 2023 ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara. As the host of the 42nd ASEAN Summit, Indonesia carries the big theme “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth”.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Retno Marsudi stated that the theme of ASEAN 2023 consisted of two major elements, namely ASEAN Matters and the Epicentrum of Growth. The first element is ASEAN Matters, namely how Indonesia with its chairmanship continues to make ASEAN relevant and important not only for the Indonesian people, but also for the people of ASEAN, even for people outside ASEAN.
Whereas in the second element, namely the Epicentrum of Growth, namely ASEAN as a center of growth shows that economic growth in the ASEAN region always grows higher than other countries outside ASEAN.
For information, at the 41st ASEAN Summit in Cambodia on November 13, 2022, Indonesia received the mandate to hold the ASEAN 2023 Chairmanship. Likewise, in 2023, Indonesia will host the 2023 ASEAN Summit.
Indonesia has indeed won a lot of trust from the international community in organizing global standard events. Indonesia itself has held the chairmanship of ASEAN four times, namely in 1976, 1996, 2003, and finally in 2011. In 2023, this is the 5th time that Indonesia has become the navigator of ASEAN.
On one occasion, President Joko Widodo expressed optimism that ASEAN would remain relevant and become an important center of economic growth in the region.
Indonesia is determined to direct ASEAN cooperation in 2023 to continue and strengthen ASEAN’s relevance in responding to regional and global challenges, as well as strengthening ASEAN’s position as the center of regional economic growth, for the prosperity of the people in Southeast Asia.
Indonesia is believed to be capable of facilitating various breakthroughs as solutions in overcoming world challenges that are also faced by the Southeast Asian Region. The trust and support of various parties to Indonesia’s chairmanship is inseparable from Indonesia’s diplomatic strategy and strong leadership in ASEAN.
President Jokowi has indeed decided that the 2023 ASEAN Summit will be held in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), one of which is as a form of government support to restore the tourism industry in eastern Indonesia after being hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The government also wants Labuan Bajo and its surrounding areas to be recognized by delegates to the 2023 ASEAN Summit. This is because there are still many other tourist areas in Indonesia that have great potential. Specifically, the ASEAN Summit will be held in the Tana Mori Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Labuan Bajo.
The residents of Labuan Bajo are also excited and very enthusiastic because this is the first time the ASEAN Summit has been held in their area. The community welcomed the increase in infrastructure development and economic activity.
Indonesia’s chairmanship in ASEAN is also an important opportunity to demonstrate Indonesia’s role in strengthening ASEAN institutional capacities and capabilities. In addition, the 2023 ASEAN Summit is an appropriate moment to show the eyes of the international public the resilience of Indonesia’s economy. []
Author: Rini Winda A. (Senior contributor / Social economic observer)
