The Indonesian government officially concluded the forty third ASEAN Summit on Thursday (September 9). The forum successfully agreed on 93 cooperation projects value $38.2 billion.
In a series of selections issued, including statements issued by eastern leaders on growth centers, developing electric vehicle ecosystems, accelerating cross-border payments and native currency transactions.
These achievements were announced by President Joko Widodo in the course of the closing press conference of the forty third ASEAN Summit on the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) on Thursday (September 7). Indonesia accomplished its ASEAN chairmanship in 2023, after which Laos will assume the ASEAN chairmanship in 2024.
Jokowi expressed the view that ASEAN, called the “Epicenter of Growth”, is an important topic to debate on the ASEAN Summit. According to him, despite geopolitical tensions, ASEAN has great potential to develop into the central axis of the world.
Jokowi also noted that ASEAN currently has three foremost benefits that may provide the premise for becoming a worldwide growth center. First, high economic growth, assuming that ASEAN economies can achieve annual growth of 4.5 percent by 2024.
Second, foreign direct investment (FDI) is abundant, with data showing that FDI inflows into the ASEAN region will reach 17 percent by 2022.
Third, ASEAN’s population of roughly 65 percent is of working age, making it certainly one of the third largest productive populations on the planet. Jokowi emphasized that due to these benefits, ASEAN has great potential to develop into an upper-middle-class country by 2023.
The consequence of the forty third ASEAN Summit is a continuation of the agreements reached at previous summits. These agreements will then be implemented through close cooperation with ASEAN partners.
