President Jokowi: Indonesia Strengthens ASEAN Institutional Capacity and Effectiveness Responds to Future Challenges
Jakarta – President Joko Widodo said that as chairman of ASEAN, Indonesia will strengthen the capacity and effectiveness of ASEAN institutions in responding to the challenges of the next 20 years.
ASEAN must be able to answer the challenges that will exist in the next 20 years, Indonesia, which is trusted as ASEAN Chair, must be able to strengthen the capacity and effectiveness of ASEAN institutions so that they can contribute in providing solutions in various fields so that ASEAN can clearly see its strategic role in becoming the anchor of the world economy, said President Joko Widodo some time ago.
“Indonesia has been appointed to serve as Chair of ASEAN 2023, so the Government of Indonesia will focus on strengthening ASEAN to become a fast-growing, inclusive and sustainable economic region,” said President Joko Widodo.
On a different occasion, the Director General for ASEAN Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sidharto R. Suryodipuro said there were a number of priority issues to be discussed at the 2023 ASEAN Summit such as issues of food security, financial stability, energy security, as well as health issues.
“After the pandemic, we have to make sure we can get back up in various economic growth activities. Including the development of the digital economy,” explained Sidharto.
Sidharto said that this year, ASEAN has a mission to ensure that the region remains a bright spot in the world economy. Of course, this is in order to maintain ASEAN’s economic growth can be stable. “Even in terms of world investment, ASEAN is a bright spot for various countries,” said Sidharto.
It is well known that the population of the countries that are members of ASEAN reaches 668.61 million people or the equivalent of 8.34 percent of the current total world population which reaches 8.01 billion (Worldometers Report, 31 January 2023).
Previously, the IMF projected that the ASEAN Region would record economic growth of 5 percent in 2022 and 4.6 percent in 2023. These figures make ASEAN one of the regions with the highest economic growth.
The results of the assessment of the Asia-Pacific Regional Cooperation and Integration Index (ARCII), as quoted from the statement of the Governor of Lemhanas Andi Widjajanto (6/2/2023) show that the region is able to take advantage of the momentum of uncertainty in the midst of a pandemic as a turning point to increase digital capacity and enhance regional cooperation. In this case, Southeast Asia is a sub-region that also scores well, in line with the ongoing expansion of digital transactions.
It’s no wonder that the latest study from Bloomberg shows the high interest of investors in the Southeast Asian region.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy (Menparekraf) Sandiaga Uno said that his party would not waste the ASEAN Summit event in Labuan Bajo
The ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo is an opportunity to promote Labuan Bajo as a super priority tourist destination that should be visited by various kinds of tourists from abroad, explained Sandiaga Uno.
The Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy will do its best to take advantage of this momentum so that Labuan Bajo can be better known internationally.
