Unity and inclusivity: ASEAN Summit focus

3-day meet offers chance to discuss free trade, economic growth, global security

Southeast Asian nations will be emphasizing unity and inclusiveness at a series of coordinating and preparatory meetings over the next few days as heads of state and government are gathering in Jakarta for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and related summits.

Indonesia, this year's rotating chair, is hosting the 43rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summits from Tuesday to Thursday.

President Joko Widodo is expected to chair the plenary and retreat sessions of the ASEAN Summit, the East Asia Summit, the ASEAN Plus Three Summit, as well as ASEAN one-on-one meetings with Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the United States and the United Nations, besides bilateral meetings.

Opening the Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the ASEAN Secretariat on Monday, Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the meetings will discuss the development and the strengthening of ASEAN's cooperation with its external partner countries.

They will also discuss establishment of a long-term vision of the region, strengthening ASEAN's resilience in facing challenges of the times, pushing for an economic center of the world, and further developing the Pacific region into a peaceful and safer place that is also nuclear-free.

Retno also called on colleagues to find peaceful solutions to the conflict in Myanmar.

Regional centrality

At the Consultation Meeting of ASEAN Economic Ministers earlier, Indonesia's Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan said the country agreed to enhance intra-ASEAN trade and investment, and he was optimistic that ASEAN will emerge stronger in addressing any future challenges, highlighting the centrality of ASEAN in regional affairs.

Also on Monday, Serbia's Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, Panama's Vice-Foreign Minister Vladimir Franco and Kuwait's Deputy Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah signed the Instrument of Accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia for their own countries.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang and US Vice-President Kamala Harris are also attending the meetings. Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet has arrived in Jakarta on his first international appearance.

Bangladesh and the Cook Islands have also been invited to the ASEAN Summit, as they respectively chair the Indian Ocean Rim Association and the Pacific Islands Forum.

Founded in 1967, ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, with Timor-Leste expected to become the 11th member. This year's summit, themed "ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth", focuses on propelling the ASEAN Community Vision 2025.

Aleksius Jemadu, a professor at Pelita Harapan University in Banten, Indonesia, said the events should give full attention to economic growth.

"ASEAN is a region that has grown fast after the pandemic. Don't let this go futile," he said, adding that leaders should take advantage of the current economic and business boom.

The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.

Xinhua contributed to this story.