Indonesia prioritises consolidating ASEAN Secretariat

Indonesia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi on January 9 said consolidating the ASEAN Secretariat will be a priority in the country’s ASEAN Chairmanship this year.

Pointing to challenges of the 10-member grouping both in and outside, the minister said ASEAN still needs to seek solutions to the Myanmar issue given the sluggish implementation of the Five-Point Consensus. Its centrality has been threatened by the increasingly fierce competition, and global economic declines have affected the regional growth.

These factors have prompted Indonesia to select the theme of “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth” for 2023, she explained.

ASEAN should play a leading role in addressing new geopolitical dynamics and continue to be the global growth epicentrum, the official said.

To that end, the ASEAN Secretariat should be stronger, she said, noting that Indonesia hopes for support from the Secretariat to fulfill its Chairmanship./.

VNA