"The concept of this building is dialogue that is an integral part of ASEAN's DNA and culture. The concept of this dialogue is reflected in the building bridge measuring 41.5 meters long and connects the two towers of the new ASEAN building," Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi noted at the inauguration ceremony in Jakarta on Thursday.
The new ASEAN building is built on an area of 11,369 square meters, with a building area of 49,993 square meters, which has two earthquake-resistant towers.
The two towers are connected by a 40.5-meter sky bridge recorded as the longest suspension bridge in Indonesia in the category of building bridge without a buffer and received an award certificate from the Indonesian World Record Museum (MURI).
"This is the longest building bridge without a buffer in Indonesia. In addition, the concept of dialogue and harmony is apparent in the old and new ASEAN buildings," Foreign Minister Marsudi remarked.
The foreign minister noted that the new ASEAN Secretariat building is an environment-friendly building, with the room temperature set at 25 degrees Celsius.
"You will not feel cold here. There is no air conditioner in the lobby," she stated.
A total of 30 meeting rooms can accommodate various ASEAN meetings in future. In addition, the new building provides a special room for delegates from each ASEAN member country.
"We hope the new building of the ASEAN Secretariat would not only be a building but also a source of energy and inspiration for ASEAN's work and efforts in future," Foreign Minister Marsudi noted.
After inauguration of the new ASEAN building by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, he symbolically handed over the mock-up of the key of the building to ASEAN Secretary General Lim Jock Hoi.
The inauguration was also attended by several ministers of the Working Cabinet, Jakarta governor, South Jakarta mayor, the ambassador/permanent representative of ASEAN member countries, ambassador of ASEAN dialogue partners, representatives of international organizations, and related ministries and institutions.
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Translator: Yuni Arisandy / Azis Kurmala
Editor: Suharto
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