Remarks of President of the Republic of Indonesia at the Commemoration of the 56th Anniversary of ASEAN at ASEAN Secretariat’s Nusantara Hall, DKI Jakarta Province, August 8, 2023
Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
Distinguished Ministers of the Indonesia Onward Cabinet,
His Excellency ASEAN Secretary General Dr. Kao Kim Hourn,
Excellencies Ambassadors of Friendly Countries,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Today marks the founding of ASEAN 56 years ago with a spirit to make Southeast Asia a peaceful, stable, and prosperous region. And today, I would like to encourage all of you to reaffirm the spirit. Global challenges and dynamics we are facing are uneasy. Global economy has not fully recovered yet; rivalries get sharper. However, I am sure, we all believe that ASEAN can make it, if we unite.
ASEAN reflects a harmony in diversity. Every ASEAN country goes hand in hand with others. Differences do not hinder us from realizing the ASEAN’s spirit and vision. ASEAN must be able to serve as epicentrum of growth that provides greater benefits for people in the region and in the world. To achieve it, ASEAN has great potentials including the economic growth, demographic bonus, and global trust for ASEAN as a region that has the strongest economic opportunity. We have to seize the positive momentum to make ASEAN as a world’s future. ASEAN must serve as an ‘anchor’ for peace, stability, and prosperity for the world.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The 43rd ASEAN Summit will be held next year. As the Holder of the 2023 ASEAN Chairmanship, Indonesia call on all ASEAN members to build a strong ASEAN basis so that ASEAN can face uneasy challenges, be adaptive with dynamic changes, and play an important role. We all realize that the current situation in Myanmar still has challenges. Our effort to assist in resolving the current situation in Myanmar has been made through Five-Point Consensus. However, we must realize that this situation can only be resolved if there is a political will from all elements in Myanmar. ASEAN that serves as ‘a large vessel’ must continue to move forward. It must keep sailing. It must not sink. It is our responsibility to protect hundreds of lives of the people within it.
Let us work together to make ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth. Happy 56th Anniversary, ASEAN.
I thank you.
Wassalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
(AP/MUR)