Edi Prio Pambudi, Deputy for International Economic Cooperation at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, stated that the high-level meeting held in Lombok from July 29-31, 2023, aimed to produce recommendations on economic pillars.
The recommendations will be conveyed to the heads of state/governments at the ASEAN Summit in Jakarta in September 2023.
“We will not stop at mere recommendations, but will also look into how to follow up on these recommendations so that the goals of Indonesia’s ASEAN chairmanship this year can be achieved before passing it on to the next country, Laos,” Pambudi said.
He expressed hope that the meeting would lead to concrete results that would be felt by communities.
He informed that the high-level meeting discussed the blue economy framework, efforts to reduce carbon emissions, electric vehicles, and other issues.
The blue economy framework issues do not only apply to countries whose territories cover the oceans but also those that have water bodies, like rivers.
“We discussed how to dig and optimize the economic potential in countries that have water resources,” he said.
He said the meeting discussed how to utilize water resources for new energy and economic sources.
“These recommendations will be conveyed at the ASEAN Summit, so that all ASEAN countries can support them. As we know, some ASEAN countries are archipelagic, while others are based on the continent; we discussed how to connect them,” he said.
On Saturday (July 29), the government discussed various issues to keep strengthening ASEAN cooperation.
Amid the uncertain geopolitical situation, many countries want to engage with ASEAN countries, both through trade, investment, and other forms of cooperation.
The 44th high-level meeting was attended by at least 72 delegates from 11 countries, including Timor-Leste, which joined as an observer.
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Translator: Bayu S, Kenzu
Editor: Anton Santoso
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