By Elisabeth Titania Dionne )*
All residents in NTT admit that they are very proud of the region being selected as the host for the 2023 ASEAN Summit. Not only proud, but all of them are also determined to help the succession of the implementation of these activities as well as possible through various kinds of careful preparations that have been made.
The Governor of East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) Province, Viktor Bungtilu Laiskodat, admitted that the people of NTT were very proud of the decision that the Labuan Bajo region in West Manggarai Regency had been designated as the host for the ASEAN Summit in May 2023. .
According to him, by holding this international scale activity in East Nusa Tenggara, it will certainly have a big impact, especially on the economic development of the local community.
Therefore, with the holding of the 2023 ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, of course it is a matter of pride for all residents because this is the first time that the East Nusa Tenggara Province itself has become a region as a venue for an event that is very important at an international level, so of course will be able to push the name and the area to become more famous even in the eyes of the world in the future.
The appointment of Labuan Bajo as the venue for the 2023 ASEAN Summit by the President of the Republic of Indonesia (RI), Joko Widodo (Jokowi) received a very positive response and brought a sense of pride to all local people. How could it not be, because in general, usually the location for holding an international event is held in Jakarta or Bali, but it turns out that this time East Nusa Tenggara was given a very extraordinary opportunity to be the host.
Viktor Bungtilu then added that with the momentum of holding the 2023 ASEAN Summit in NTT, it should be used as best as possible to be able to further introduce the region to the international community.
The reason is, in the momentum of the head of state meeting between countries in ASEAN, there will certainly be lots of high-ranking officials from various neighboring countries who will also attend Labuan Bajo. On the other hand, the Government of Indonesia itself has also designated the area in Labuan Bajo to be a super premium tourist area.
Knowing that there was this excellent momentum, Viktor immediately instructed all of his staff and regional apparatus leaders in East Nusa Tenggara Province to play an active role in encouraging and supporting the successful holding of the 2023 ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo.
It cannot be denied that indeed the Labuan Bajo region itself has natural beauty and also a very good culture that can be enjoyed, including by all delegations from friendly countries. The Governor of NTT then appealed to all of his staff to further participate in encouraging the promotion of cultural customs in his area by wearing full traditional clothing from various regions throughout NTT to be able to promote NTT’s cultural excellence and tourism assets in welcoming all delegates.
Meanwhile, Labuan Bajo itself, as the venue as well as the host of the meeting of heads of state in the ASEAN region at the 42nd ASEAN Summit Summit, was very ready to welcome all the arrivals of important guests delegations of regional countries.
Site visits have also been carried out several times by the Government of Indonesia, including President Jokowi himself and several related Ministries, including Regional Governments (Pemda) such as the NTT Provincial Government who visited Tana Mori and emphasized that NTT was indeed very ready to succeed in holding this international event.
Preparedness has even been taken into account from various aspects, including Governor Viktor asking all related officials to be able to manage waste and clean the environment properly. According to him, all waste, especially plastic waste, should not be in the Tana Mori National Tourism Strategic Area.
Therefore, in an effort to support the succession of the 2023 ASEAN Summit, he asked all parties in Labuan Bajo to be able to clean up trash, so that the event could run very smoothly.
He added that as part of the Special Economic Zone (KEK), Tana Mori itself is indeed a new leading tourism destination in Eastern Indonesia, which is very capable of being a driving force for economic development in the future.
The choice of Labuan Bajo and NTT Province as hosts for the 2023 ASEAN Summit was warmly welcomed by the entire local community. In fact, all NTT residents admitted that they were very proud because the area could host an international event and at the same time be able to become a momentum for promoting the region so that it could be increasingly recognized in the eyes of the world.
)* The author is a Gelora Media Institute Contributor
