When the world should have recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic soon, it faces a new problem, the war in UkraineJakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), at the ASEAN-US Special Summit in Washington D.C. on Friday, called for an immediate halt to the war in Ukraine.
The war has led to a humanitarian tragedy and deteriorated the global economy, he stated.
"When the world should have recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic soon, it faces a new problem, the war in Ukraine. When the world needs cooperation and collaboration, rivalry and confrontation have increasingly become sharper. When the world needs increasingly stronger multilateralism, unilateralism has increasingly emerged," he remarked.
The war has deteriorated the global economy since it raised the food and energy prices and triggered inflation. Hence, it highly burdened the economy and slowed down the realization of sustainable development goals (SDGs) in developing nations and least developed countries, he remarked.
He said the war has weakened multilateralism and will potentially tear apart relations among countries.
"War will not benefit anybody. The world has no other choice but to stop the war without delay. Each country, each leader takes responsibility for creating an enabling environment, so the war can be stopped and peace can be created," he emphasized.
Due to the war, economic growth has also become a cause for concern. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has revised downward its economic growth forecasts for emerging and developing countries in Asia by 0.5 percent in 2022 and 0.2 percent in 2023.
The World Bank also slashed its economic growth forecast for several ASEAN member states by up to 1.2 percent.
"For some ASEAN member states, a 10-percent increase in oil price will reduce the national income by 0.7 percent and an increase in wheat flour price will raise the poverty rate by one percent," he stated.
Jokowi reiterated what he had delivered at a meeting with the US Congress.
"For more than five decades, the ASEAN continued to build an inclusive security architecture, prioritize the collaboration paradigm, and encourage the habit of dialogue and rules-based order. We also encouraged the same spirit in the Indo-Pacific through the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific," he noted.
At the Special Summit, which brought together US President Joe Biden and ASEAN leaders, Jokowi warmly welcomed the US initiative through the Indo Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).
"Of course, the cooperation under IPEF must be inclusive. I hope for synergy between IPEF and the implementation of priority cooperation in AOIP (ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific)," he affirmed.
As Indonesia is chosen as the chair of ASEAN next year, he delivered a plan to realize IPEF.
"I hope for US participation in the forum," he stated.
At the ASEAN-US Special Summit, Jokowi was accompanied by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Trade Minister Muhammad Luffi, and Indonesian Ambassador to the US Rosan Roeslani.
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Translator: Indra Arief P, Suharto
Editor: Sri Haryati
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