At the opening of the 43rd ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) Summit, all regional countries continued to uphold equality in cooperation with all parties in the world to create peace and mutual prosperity.
Since this morning it was known that a number of Ministers from the Onward Indonesia Cabinet had arrived at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) Senayan, Jakarta to be able to attend the 43rd ASEAN Summit. Not only ministers, but a number of leaders of friendly countries have also arrived in Indonesia.
It is known that the Prime Minister (PM) of the Cook Islands Mark Brown in Indonesia is indeed going to attend this international event in his capacity as Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).
Previously, in her statement to the media crew, Minister of Foreign Affairs (Menlu RI) Retno Marsudi stated that there were as many as 22 countries consisting of eleven ASEAN countries and nine partner countries attending the ASEAN Summit agenda in Jakarta.
Not only that, but Retno also confirmed that a number of other international organizations were also present at the Summit which was chaired by Indonesia. Some of them are the United Nations (UN) represented by their Secretary General (Sekjen). This includes the World Bank, IMF and the World Economic Forum.
Then at the opening of the 43rd ASEAN Summit, the President of the Republic of Indonesia (RI), Joko Widodo (Jokowi) gave his speech and answered several questions regarding the current condition of countries in the Southeast Asia region, especially when there is currently turmoil. world.
Very firmly, the Head of State stated in his opening speech at the 43rd ASEAN Summit that all regional countries continue to maintain their unity and solidarity very well. However, it cannot be denied that being united does not mean that all opinions have to be the same.
However, in good unity, it is still possible for each member country to have differences of opinion in accordance with their respective authentic viewpoints. The existence of mutual differences of opinion is actually also a very common thing that has happened in Indonesia and is even inevitable.
How could it not be, because the country itself, all of its people consist of various very different backgrounds, but all of them can remain united to unite within the framework of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia as the motto that was formulated by the founders of the previous nation, namely Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, so that even in the midst of differences, the people still and continue to uphold their unity.
Because they are very used to dealing with differences and still uniting each other, in the 43rd ASEAN Chair this time, Indonesia actually considers that if there are differences of opinion between one country and another when discussing an issue, then that is a very natural thing.
In fact, according to President Jokowi himself, when each country is able to express its opinion, it shows that the reflection of democratization is being implemented very well. Apart from that, the courage of each country to have differences of opinion also shows that the position between countries is indeed equal with no one party dominating.
Furthermore, the existence of equality of position between countries in ASEAN is still being maintained jointly by all regional countries to this day, making this a main value that continues to be upheld, with the aim of becoming a region capable of leading the world.
With the framework of unity and oneness that all regional countries continue to uphold very highly, this will enable the shipping of ASEAN’s large ships to continue to progress. Especially in the face of world turmoil and global uncertainty which is currently still occurring.
How there is world turmoil that makes conditions completely uncertain is indeed a challenge that should be able to be faced together. This is because the world turmoil has involved a struggle for influence or power by several major powers in the world.
However, despite this, all ASEAN member countries continue to zealously defend their position and their own sovereignty and have firmly agreed not to become proxies or part of any party, no matter how big the threatening power is.
Instead of siding with or acting as a proxy for one of the major world powers, all regional countries continue to encourage and open themselves to broad cooperation with many parties and strive for equal peace and prosperity.
