President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) will lead seven out of eight meetings during the 42nd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit that will be held on May 9-11 in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara.
According to the statement issued on Saturday by the 2023 ASEAN Summit Communication and Media Team, the meetings that Jokowi will lead include the Plenary Session, summit retreat session and 15th Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) session.
There will also be meetings with representatives from ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), ASEAN Youth, ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC), and High-Level Task Force on ASEAN Community Post-2025 Vision (HLTF-ACV).
Meanwhile, one other meeting, namely the 15th Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Summit, will be chaired by the Malaysian Prime Minister.
Foreign Affairs Ministry's Spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah said that several issues would be discussed within the summit, which comprise the strengthening of ASEAN institutions, formulation of the post-2025 ASEAN vision, and situation in Myanmar.
"There will also be a discussion on post-pandemic economic recovery, strengthening health architecture in the region, and other important issues in and out of the region," he said.
The 42nd ASEAN Summit is expected to produce several documents, including ASEAN Leaders' Statement on ASEAN institution strengthening, post-2025 ASEAN Vision, human trafficking handling, protection of migrant workers and their families during a crisis, health, electric vehicle ecosystem, and the network development of ASEAN's villages.
The summit will be attended by the heads of states of ASEAN countries, including Timor Leste as the 11th member country with observer status based on the result of the 40th and 41th Summit in Cambodia.
During the summit, ASEAN member leaders will also attend the sunset viewing and welcoming dinner events on May 10, 2023, as invited by President Jokowi.
Meanwhile, the spouse programme has been prepared by ASEAN leaders' assistants.
Moreover, a side event in the form of People Festival (Festival Rakyat) by the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry and the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry will be held on May 9-13, 2023.
The event showcases various micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) products, beach clean-up and cultural performances.
The 42nd ASEAN Summit will be the first out of two summits under Indonesia's chairmanship in ASEAN in 2023.
During the first summit in May, ASEAN leaders will discuss the association's internal issues and other important issues both inside and outside of the region.
Meanwhile, the 43rd ASEAN summit, planned to be held in Jakarta in September 2023, will not only be attended by ASEAN leaders but also leaders of ASEAN partner countries.
The discussion during the summit will focus on the development and strengthening of ASEAN's partnership with external parties.
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Editor : Mahdani
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