Chief of the Presidential Staff, Moeldoko, delivered the statement while visiting the media center set up for the summit at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), Jakarta, on Tuesday.
"If the (ASEAN Summit) agreement lead to epicentrum of growth, it must be related to the grassroots community," Moeldoko said.
The phrase "epicentrum of growth" has a wider meaning in terms of the effort to grow the regional economy, which would have a positive impact on mobilizing the people's economy, he explained.
According to him, economic growth could also have a positive impact on development in other sectors.
He cited the influence of ASEAN economic growth on the defense sector in terms of the strengthening of the weapon systems in each member country as an example.
"When our economic growth is good, definitely, spending on armed forces will get better," he said.
Moeldoko added that ASEAN is also actively seeking international cooperation to push regional economic growth.
The 2020 ASEAN Vision emphasizes that ASEAN will play an important role in the international community and promote the region's common interests.
That is the reason ASEAN has forged cooperation with Japan, the People's Republic of China, and South Korea through ASEAN+3.
ASEAN has also developed cooperation through ASEAN Dialogue Partners with Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, India, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, the Russian Federation, the United States, and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
ASEAN is also maintaining communication with intergovernmental organizations, namely the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Rio Group, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the South Pacific Forum, and the Asian-African Sub-Regional Organization Conference.
Most ASEAN member countries are also actively participating in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), and Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC).
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Translator: Andi Firdaus/Rangga Pandu Asmara Jingga/Asri Mayan
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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