President Jokowi Invites UN, ASEAN to Join Hands for Its People
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (sixth from the left) takes a group photo with a number of heads of state (from left), President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr., PM of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong, Head of Delegation of The Kingdom of Thailand Sarun Charoensuwan, PM of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, PM Lao PDR Sonexay Siphandone, Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Hassanal Bolkiah, PM of Cambodia Hun Manet, PM of Malaysia Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and PM of Timor Leste Xanana Gusmao, before the 13th ASEAN-UN Summit, at the JCC, Jakarta, Thursday (09/07). (Photo by: Media Center of 2023 ASEAN Summit/Dwi Prasetya/foc)
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo invited ASEAN and the United Nations to strengthen cooperation for the sake of the people of the world.
President Jokowi made the statement while chairing the 13th ASEAN-United Nations (UN) Summit, at the Jakarta Convention Center, Jakarta, Thursday (09/07).
“The ASEAN and UN charter preambles both begin with ‘We, the peoples’, meaning that the people must continue to be our priority,” said the President.
He went on to say that in the midst of increasingly complex global challenges, such as wars and conflicts, food crises, energy crises, financial crises, and natural disasters, it is the people who are affected the most.
To deal with this, continued the President, coordinated joint action is needed, both at the global level which is carried out by the United Nations and at the Indo-Pacific regional level which is carried out by ASEAN.
However, President Jokowi emphasized that the effectiveness of ASEAN and the UN’s work is often hampered by geopolitical dynamics which ultimately result in the fading of the spirit of cooperation, the spirit of multilateralism, which in the end being replaced by rule by the strong.
The President also encouraged ASEAN and the UN to continue to voice respect for international law as a basis for interaction between nations and prioritize an inclusive collaboration paradigm.
“ASEAN and the UN have a clear choice to continue upholding respect for international law as a basis for interaction between nations and a paradigm of inclusive collaboration,” he said.
Apart from that, in the meeting attended by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the President also emphasized the importance of equitable development throughout the world.
“Let’s together carry out a development agenda that is more just for developing countries, including the right to progress and to prosper. We must promote global governance reform so that it remains fit for purpose and fit for its time,” he concluded. (MAY/UN) (EST/MUR)
