Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said that Indonesia continues to encourage the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to be the anchor of global economic stability.

Indonesia is the holder of the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023 after the conclusion of the ASEAN Summit in Cambodia in November 2022.

“The government would continue encouraging ASEAN to be a stable and peaceful region to become the anchor of global economic stability,” Hartarto stated here, Thursday.

He said that Indonesia’s ASEAN Chairmanship this year would bear the theme of “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth”.

“ASEAN Matters”, he said, consists of three ASEAN’s main elements: capacity and effectiveness, unity, and centrality.

“Epicentrum of Growth” is associated with ASEAN’s role as the center of regional and global economic growth, comprising four essential elements: health care architecture, energy resilience, food resilience, and financial stability, he said.

He added that Indonesia would promote three priority issues in the economic sector, comprising recovery and rebuilding, digital economy, and sustainability, for which implementation is detailed in 16 priority economy deliverables (PED) in 2023.

“Indonesia’s ASEAN Chairmanship would emphasize handling multidimensional crises, such as food, energy, and financial crises,” Hartarto affirmed.

Indonesia will also enhance the position of ASEAN to realize a stable and peaceful region that respects international law as well as bolster collaborations to achieve a strong and inclusive region with sustainable economic growth, he said.

Indonesia’s ASEAN Chairmanship accentuates its position as a global middle-power nation that could substantially affect the global agenda and bolster efforts to be part of the solution to global issues, he added.

“President Joko Widodo is sanguine that by 2045, ASEAN will be a group of countries that is more adaptive, responsive, and competitive and consistent with the ASEAN global agenda,” he

Source: Antara News