President Jokowi Urges EAS Leaders to Maintain Regional Peace, Stability
President Jokowi chairs the 18th East Asia Summit at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), Jakarta, Thursday (09/07). (Photo by: Media Center of the ASEAN Summit 2023/Aditya Pradana Putra/pras)
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo Thursday (09/07) chaired the 18th East Asia Summit (EAS) at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), Jakarta.
In his remarks, President Jokowi urged the summit participants to maintain stability and peace to create prosperity in the region.
“All of us sitting in this room have an equal responsibility to create peace, stability, and prosperity in the region. We all have the same responsibility to refrain from creating new conflicts, to refrain from creating new tensions, to refrain from creating new wars,” the President said.
At the same time, the President added, leaders also have the responsibility to lower the tension, break the ice, create space for dialog, and bridge the differences.
The President said that ASEAN has the determination to make the region an epicentrum of growth. At the same time, ASEAN also recognizes the importance of stability and peace in the region to achieve this.
“ASEAN will continue to contribute to peace and stability and ASEAN will appreciate it if the East Asia Summit can agree on a leader-level statement on the determination to continue to make this region an epicentrum of growth,” he said.
The President also invited the participants of the East Asia Summit to strengthen collaboration and avoid exacerbating rivalry in order to make the world a better place for all.
“I invite all leaders to show wisdom, to show leadership, so that this meeting is both successful and provides real benefits for the people of the world. This is where the world community will judge whether we are the kind of leaders who have the wisdom to make the world a better place for all,” he said.
As reported from the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the EAS is an open regionalism forum that emerged in the East Asian region in 2005. At the beginning of its formation, there were 16 EAS participating countries, namely 10 ASEAN countries, Australia, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and New Zealand. The United States and the Russian Federation officially joined the EAS at the 6th EAS Summit in Bali, November 2011. The EAS is a leaders-led summit forum with ASEAN as the driving force of partnership with other member states.
In line with the spirit of inclusive cooperation of the EAS under Indonesia’s current leadership, President Jokowi also invited Bangladesh as Chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and the Cook Islands as Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). In addition, Timor Leste was also present. (FID/UN) (FI/MMB)
