Parliaments and governments must work together and support each other to move forward and realize prosperity for the Southeast Asian community, she added.
"Hence, as a member of parliament, we are ready to provide political support and work with our ASEAN partners to overcome ongoing difficult times and develop a more agile ASEAN," Maharani said at the ASEAN-AIPA Leaders’ Meeting, which was held as part of the 42nd ASEAN Summit here on Wednesday.
The challenges faced by the community prove that more actions must be undertaken to maintain stability in the ASEAN region, which is a prerequisite for development, she added.
Though ASEAN is expected to record 4.8-percent economic growth in 2023, higher than the global economic growth projection of 2.8 percent this year, those actions remain essential, the AIPA president emphasized.
Maharani said that AIPA has provided a medium for parliaments to develop Southeast Asia as a peaceful region and contribute to addressing global issues, such as terrorism.
"(The AIPA) functions as a platform for us, parliament members of AIPA, to perform our parliamentary diplomacy function, including to exchange our views and opinions about regional and global issues," the DPR Speaker observed.
AIPA is also a medium for Southeast Asian parliaments to conceive new ways to enhance cooperation in various aspects, particularly in politics and security, economy, social and culture, and legal harmonization, she noted.
Earlier, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), in his opening remarks at the ASEAN-AIPA Leaders' meeting, emphasized that the role of parliaments will be vital in the long term in formulating the ASEAN 2045 agenda.
Widodo further said that ASEAN-AIPA leaders must ensure that ASEAN becomes more responsive and resilient in facing existing challenges so that it can become a center of growth and a region that is safe, stable, and democratic.
Translator: Gilang Galiartha, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Copyright © ANTARA 2023
