Indonesia prioritises consolidating ASEAN Secretariat
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.
Indonesia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia’s Minister ofForeign Affairs Retno Marsudi on January 9 said consolidating the ASEANSecretariat will be a priority in the country’s ASEAN Chairmanship this year.
Pointing to challenges of the 10-member groupingboth in and outside, the minister said ASEAN still needs to seek solutions tothe 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 thetheme of “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth” for 2023, she explained.
ASEAN should play a leading role in addressing newgeopolitical dynamics and continue to be the global growth epicentrum, theofficial said.
To that end, the ASEAN Secretariat should bestronger, she said, noting that Indonesia hopes for support from theSecretariat to fulfill its Chairmanship./.
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Indonesia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs) 
