This year, Indonesia is entrusted with hosting and chairing the regional organization with the theme of "ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth," which means the ASEAN is relevant and important as a world growth center.
The ASEAN organization was founded in Bangkok, Thailand, on August 8, 1967, and currently consists of 10 countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
On the first day of the summit, Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) conducted bilateral meetings with leaders of some countries: Vietnam, Timor-Leste, Malaysia, and Laos.
During President Jokowi's bilateral meeting with Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, both expressed optimism to achieve the target to intensify trade between the two countries by US$15 billion in 2028.
According to Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi, the two leaders are optimistic of achieving the target on condition that all trade restrictions or trade barriers can be reduced, if not completely eliminated.
The increase in trade targets was agreed upon between the two countries when President Jokowi received a state visit from Vietnam's President Nguyen Xuan Puc at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, on December 22, 2022.
The agreement was reached after the two countries realized that the US$10-billion trade target set for 2023 had been exceeded in 2021 by US$11.06 billion.
Apart from discussing trade targets, the two leaders also agreed to immediately negotiate a Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIT), given the increasing investment from both parties.
“They also agreed to increase cooperation in the field of new and renewable energy (EBT)," Marsudi stated.
In addition, President Jokowi and PM Chinh also agreed to accelerate the implementation arrangements and the ratification process of the results of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) negotiations.
During his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of Timor-Leste Taur Matan Ruak, President Jokowi discussed increasing economic cooperation between the two countries in the border region as a follow-up to the results of the meeting when PM Ruak made a state visit to Indonesia some time ago.
They both agreed to form a joint working group as an effort to develop the economic zones on the border of the two countries, Minister Marsudi remarked.
President Jokowi and PM Ruak also agreed to push for the start of the formation of a Bilateral Investment Agreement (BIT) as a further step to strengthen economic cooperation between Indonesia and Timor-Leste.
Moreover, President Jokowi reminded of the importance of completing state boundary negotiations.
President Jokowi started the conversation at the bilateral meeting by welcoming Timor-Leste for joining the ASEAN organization. PM Ruak then lauded the support from Indonesia for Timor-Leste's efforts to gain full membership in the ASEAN.
President Jokowi expressed hope that Timor-Leste could meet all criteria to become a full member of ASEAN.
“During the Indonesian chairmanship this year, the road map for Timor-Leste to become a full member will be agreed upon. We hope Timor-Leste can immediately meet the criteria in the road map to become a full member of ASEAN,” the minister stated.
During a bilateral meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, President Jokowi emphasized the importance of resolving several border issues, including those related to sea and land borders.
In addition, President Jokowi reminded of the importance of optimizing the One-Channel System for Indonesian migrant workers (PMI) in the domestic sector in Malaysia.
The president then outlined several points of agreement between Indonesia and Malaysia, including a memorandum of understanding (MoU) related to the land borders of the Sebatik segment and the Sinapad Sesai segment that had been expected to be signed in 2023.
President Jokowi also conveyed similar hopes regarding sea agreements in the Sulawesi Sea and the southern part of the Malacca Strait.
Meanwhile, during the meeting, PM Ibrahim reiterated an invitation to President Jokowi to visit Malaysia.
Prior to the bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 42nd ASEAN Summit, the two leaders had met when President Jokowi received PM Ibrahim’s state visit at the Bogor Presidential Palace, West Java, on January 9, 2023.
At that time, PM Ibrahim said if President Jokowi was willing to visit him back in Malaysia, then several negotiations between the two countries in various fields would have been completed quickly.
Lastly, during his bilateral meeting with Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, the two leaders shared the view of the importance of enhancing cooperation between the two countries in eradicating human trafficking.
In addition, the two leaders mostly discussed economic cooperation between both nations.
"For example, the president conveyed some (forms of) cooperation between Indonesian state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and Laos," Minister Marsudi remarked.
For instance, the two parties discussed cooperation between Indonesia’s state-owned electricity company, PT PLN, and Electricite du Laos, the procurement of aircraft from PT Dirgantara Indonesia for the Lao Air Force, and the procurement of trains from PT INKA for the Petrotrade Laos Public Company.
ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting
Apart from bilateral meetings, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) was also conducted on the first day of the summit.
While chairing the AMM, Minister Marsudi noted that strengthening organizational foundations was important in building the ASEAN community.
Bolstering ASEAN's foundation, capacity, and vision is a priority issue that will be discussed by Indonesia during this year's chairmanship.
The meeting was attended by foreign ministers from six ASEAN member countries of Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, while the remaining two member countries -- Singapore and Brunei Darussalam -- were represented by their respective senior officials.
The meeting discussed the accession of countries outside the region that were keen to sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation among ASEAN Countries (Treaty of Amity) and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC).
This year, the ASEAN is coordinating the readiness of three countries -- Saudi Arabia, Panama, and Spain -- that have volunteered to become partners and sign the treaty.
The meeting was also attended by Foreign Minister of Timor-Leste Adalijza Magno, whose country is in the process of becoming the 11th member of ASEAN.
Director for ASEAN Cooperation of the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sidharto Suryodipuro drew attention to several issues discussed at the meeting, including the full membership of Timor-Leste.
Furthermore, the foreign ministers discussed the implementation of the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus to help resolve the Myanmar crisis as well as the implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).
The meeting was still not attended by Myanmar's political representatives following ASEAN's decision to continue to exclude the country from the organization's high-level meetings since Myanmar's military junta is considered to have failed to implement the Five-Point Consensus.
The consensus is a peace plan initiated by ASEAN leaders in April 2021 to help end the conflict in Myanmar.
Human Trafficking Crime
Efforts to prevent the crime of human trafficking (TPPO) had been one of the issues discussed at the meeting.
Minister Marsudi said they discussed efforts to combat human trafficking, especially fraudulent crimes that use information and communication technology to commit online scams.
Cases of human trafficking are increasingly common in Southeast Asia. Her side recorded that Indonesia had resolved 1,841 cases in the last three years.
Strengthening efforts to tackle human trafficking will be discussed during the plenary session of the ASEAN Summit that will be chaired by President Jokowi on the second day.
The ASEAN Summit is expected to produce joint declarations, one of which is the Declaration on the Eradication of TPPO due to the Misuse of Technology.
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Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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