"Improving people-to-people contacts through young people is very important, so that the two countries can always maintain peace," he stated here on Tuesday.
Soesatyo is optimistic that the KNPI, under the leadership of Haris Pertama, and the Malaysian Youth Council (MBM), under the leadership of Mohd Izzat Afifi, would continue to boost youth relations between Malaysia and Indonesia.
The MPR speaker reasoned that both countries have large youth populations in the Southeast Asian region, with about 145 million youth in Indonesia, and some 24 million youth in Malaysia.
"In addition to being neighbors, the relationship between Indonesia and Malaysia is also strengthened as a correlative country that has a lot in common, both in terms of the cultural backgrounds and the use of daily language," he stated after receiving the boards of KNPI and MBM in Jakarta.
Soesatyo explained, as a youth organization in each country, the KNPI and MBM must strive to advance the Southeast Asian youth.
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"Strengthening the youth is the main foundation for the ASEAN to play an active role in the Indo-Pacific region, as there will be various huge challenges, ranging from China's claims to the South China Sea to the impact of tensions between Russia and Ukraine," Soesatyo affirmed.
Furthermore, Soesatyo noted that in the economic sector, it was recorded that the ASEAN region had experienced high growth in investment in digital technology companies or startups.
"With a population of 655,298,000, the ASEAN has become a potential market for technology companies from various countries around the world," Soesatyo remarked.
Hence, he stressed that the youth of ASEAN should be able to improve their competence and collaborate together instead of only being a market.
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Translator: Putu S, Kenzu T
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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