WNAM REPORT: As it enters its 57th year, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is assuming an increasingly important role amid ongoing global dynamics.
This important role, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi, is reflected in the efforts made by ASEAN countries to jointly maintain regional peace, stability, and prosperity amid a global climate of uncertainty.
Further, the region is seen as relatively stable, given its firm economic growth of 4.5 percent, higher than the global average.
Meanwhile, as the ASEAN region grows into a global hub for technological innovation and trade, it is also expected to post more significant gross domestic product (GDP) growth, according to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF’s) estimates.
However, Marsudi, in her speech at the 57th ASEAN anniversary event here on Thursday, highlighted the increasingly complex geopolitical situation.
This indicates more serious problems, such as a trust deficit between countries, a zero-sum paradigm, the erosion of multilateralism, and a lack of respect for international law.
To maintain peace and stability in the region, three important goals need to continue to be pursued, she said.
The first goal is making ASEAN a region that is fit for purpose, which will ensure that the ASEAN community remains the focus of development goals in the region.
To realize this, it will be necessary for ASEAN to affirm its commitment to advancing and protecting human rights.The mechanism for handling human rights issues in ASEAN must keep up with the growing human rights challenges, especially in responding to the increasing number of human trafficking cases in the region and the serious human rights violations in Gaza, Palestine.
The second goal is to make ASEAN a region that is fit for challenges so that it can respond to existing problems.
To address challenges, the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 must include action-oriented strategic plans.
Regional mechanisms must be strengthened, in particular for health architecture, food and energy security, financial stability, and digital transformation.
“Only by doing so, we can ensure our region becomes the epicentrum of growth,” Marsudi said.
Meanwhile, the third goal is to make ASEAN a region that is fit for greatness. Inclusivity and a culture of collaboration are key to realizing peace, stability, and prosperity in the region.
Therefore, ASEAN needs to continue to mainstream this paradigm beyond ASEAN, through the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).
A connected and resilient ASEAN
In line with Marsudi, who underlined the importance of the collaboration paradigm, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn also emphasized the importance of unity and cooperation to improve connectivity and resilience in the region.
All of this could help realize an ASEAN that is increasingly connected and resilient, in accordance with the theme of the 57th anniversary of the grouping this year.
Underlining ASEAN’s commitment to fostering regional integration, cooperation, and interconnectivity, the secretary general stressed three key points that are currently his focus.
The first is that ASEAN must continue to uphold the principle of open regionalism, ensure its neutrality and unity, as well as maintain market openness to trade and investment.
He said that the involvement of ASEAN countries at the global level is very important to promote peace, security, stability, and prosperity in the region.
In addition, ASEAN needs to maintain an open, inclusive, and rules-based regional order to enhance progress in a dynamic international landscape.
The second crucial point is that ASEAN must unlock all potentials that drive new growth to diversify the economy and increase resilience.
Hence, ASEAN countries need to take advantage of the digital economy and the dynamics of a young, tech-savvy population, and the adoption of innovative technologies must continue to be pursued.
It is essential to implement effective digitization initiatives, including the ASEAN digital economy framework, negotiations on which are targeted to be completed next year.
The secretary-general said he hopes that the innovative agreement will make a significant contribution to the development of digital economy in ASEAN region, bridge the regional digital divide, increase productivity and competitiveness, and ultimately, improve the welfare of people throughout the region.
The third important point is ensuring the implementation of the ASEAN people’s pillar by making people the main motivation for regional integration, he said.
“This is to ensure that it provides real benefits to our people and society,” he added.
The 57th anniversary celebration of ASEAN at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta on Thursday raised the theme of a connected and resilient ASEAN community.
The celebration was opened by ASEAN Secretary-General Hourn, Minister Marsudi, and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Lao PDR, Saleumxay Kommasith.
The event was also attended by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, and Minister of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning and head of the National Land Agency (ATR/BPN), Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, as well as ambassadors from several countries.
The event also lauded Minister Marsudi for her decade of dedication to Indonesia as foreign minister, and her support for ASEAN, especially the ASEAN Secretariat.
During the celebration, Indonesia also presented collaborative batik from Indonesia for ASEAN with batik motifs inspired by the diversity of flowers that grow in ASEAN countries.
The collaborative batik symbolized hope, wisdom, and solidarity, as well as synergy between countries in Southeast Asia.
