War in Ukraine Must be Stopped: President Jokowi

President Jokowi attends the ASEAN-US Special Summit in Washington D.C., United States, Friday (05/13). (Photo by: BPMI Presidential Secretariat/Laily Rachev)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo Friday (05/13) has called for ending the war in Ukraine immediately.

“War will not benefit anybody. The world has no other choice but to stop the war at once. Each country and leader bear responsibility to create an enabling environment so the war can be stopped and peace can be established,” the President said at the ASEAN-US Special Summit in Washington D.C., United States.

The war in Ukraine, the President added, has caused a humanitarian tragedy and weaken the world economy as well as delay the SDGs achievement in developing and least developed countries since it caused an increase in food and energy prices that lead to a worsened inflation.

“When the world should have been recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic immediately, it faces a new problem, the war in Ukraine. When the world needs cooperation and collaboration, the rivalry and confrontation are getting sharper. When the world needs increasingly stronger multilateralism, unilateralism has become more prominent instead,” he said.

President Jokowi further said that the current situation has made economic growth to be of concern since the IMF has lowered its prediction for economic growth in emerging and developing Asia by 0.5 percent in 2022 and 0.2 percent in 2023 and the World Bank has also cut down its prediction for economic growth in several ASEAN countries to 1.2 percent.

“For some ASEAN members, a 10 percent increase in oil prices will result in a 0.7 percent decrease in national income and an increase in wheat prices will result in a 1 percent increase in poverty,” the President added.

On the occasion, the Head of State underscored that for more than five decades, the ASEAN continues to establish an inclusive security architecture, prioritizing the collaboration paradigm, encouraging a habit of dialogue and rules-based orders, adding that he also encourages the similar spirit in the Indo-Pacific through the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).

President Jokowi also welcomed the US initiative through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). “The cooperation under IPEF surely must be inclusive. I hope for synergy between the IPEF and the implementation of priority cooperation in the AOIP,” he said.

Following Indonesia’s ASEAN chair next year, President Jokowi also conveys his plan to hold the Indo-Pacific Infrastructure Forum.

“I hope for US participation in the forum,” the President remarked. (BPMI Presidential Secretariat/UN) (GWH/LW)