President Jokowi Attends ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting

President Jokowi, accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, attends the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting, Saturday (24/04) at the ASEAN Secretariat Building, Jakarta. (Photo by: BPMI/Muchlis Jr)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, on Saturday (24/04), attended the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting held at the ASEAN Secretariat Building, Jakarta.

President Jokowi arrived at the location at around 13.12 Western Indonesian Time and was greeted directly by ASEAN Secretary General Dato Lim Jock Hoi.

After posing for pictures and filling in the guest book, the President and the leaders or representatives of ASEAN countries headed to the meeting room at the Bali Lounge.

The meeting consists of three segments, namely ASEAN community development, ASEAN external relations, and regional and international issues.

In the first and second segments, President Jokowi will be accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi and the Director General of ASEAN Cooperation of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sidharto R. Suryodipuro. Meanwhile, in the third segment, the President is only accompanied by the Foreign Minister.

A number of leaders of ASEAN countries attended at the invitation of the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Hassanal Bolkiah as the Chair of ASEAN. For the record, this meeting is an Indonesian initiative and is a follow-up meeting to President Jokowi’s talks with the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam on the resolution to the Myanmar situation.

It is expected that an agreement will be reached, especially on the steps that are beneficial for the people of Myanmar, helping the country to get out of the current situation.

Retno, on Friday (23/04), stated that the convene of the meeting, held by implementing strict health protocols, would be the first physical meeting of ASEAN leaders during the pandemic. This illustrates the seriousness and determination of the ASEAN leaders to help Myanmar.

“The commitment of the leaders to meet physically is a reflection of ASEAN’s deep concern over the situation in Myanmar and ASEAN’s determination to help Myanmar get out of this crisis,” she said. (BPMI/UN) (FI/LW)