WNAM REPORT: Indonesian Vice President Ma’ruf Amin departs for Laos on Tuesday to lead the Indonesian delegation at the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits and other related summits.
Amin would deliver key messages in 14 meetings at the Summit on October 9-11, 2024, in Vientiane, Laos, according to his spokesman Masduki Baidlowi.
“The key messages include ASEAN’s important achievements in the last 10 years and the continuity of ASEAN’s efforts in implementing the 5PC in Myanmar,” Baidlowi noted in his statement on Tuesday.
The vice president also emphasized ASEAN’s milestones of success over a decade and the bloc’s strategic steps for the benefit of its member countries, he said.
In addition, he would highlight the importance of cooperation between all countries to realize ASEAN centrality and world peace, the spokesman stated.
“The vice president also encourages major countries to support ASEAN centrality, ensuring ASEAN’s ability to respond to current and actual future issues, and rally support for the struggle of the Palestinian people,” he noted.
Using the Air Force Falcon aircraft, the vice president, accompanied by his spouse Wury and a limited entourage, is scheduled to take off from the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in Jakarta to the Wattay Vientiane International Airport at 14:00 local time.
The ASEAN Summit is a meeting of ASEAN leaders, which is also the highest policy-making body in the ASEAN.
Prime Minister of Laos, Sonexay Siphandone, received the baton of the ASEAN chairmanship mandate from Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the closing of the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta on September 7, 2023.
Laos’ chairmanship this year is themed, “Enhancing Connectivity and Resilience.”
The summit would focus on priority issues, such as economic integration, realizing an inclusive and sustainable future, digital transformation, and the role of ASEAN culture and arts for inclusion and sustainability.
The strategic plan for the ASEAN community vision 2045, ASEAN centrality, climate change resilience, the role of women and children in ASEAN transformation, and resilience in the health sector would also be prioritized for discussion at the summit.
ASEAN comprises 10 member states, namely Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Timor-Leste, as a prospective 11th member, has participated in some ASEAN meetings and activities as an observer.
