Calls ASEAN Cannot Be A Competition Event, President Jokowi: Let's Be Winners Without Reaping Others

President Jokowi while attending the ASEAN Foreign Minister meeting. (Screenshot of YouTube Channel Setpres)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) invites Southeast Asian countries and their partners to become winners without degrading others, reminding ASEAN to strengthen unity and solidity, not to become a place of competition and proxies for other countries.

That was said by President Jokowi in front of ASEAN Foreign Ministers and partners who attended the 56th ASEAN Minister of Foreign Affairs Meeting (AMM) in Jakarta, Friday, July 14.

As Chair of ASEAN, President Jokowi said Indonesia would take advantage of this trust to increase ASEAN's contribution to the glory of the Indo-Pacific and the world.

"Your Excellency, I believe that your presence at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting and Post Ministerial Conference is to seek resolution to regional problems, to world problems, not to the contrary. Moreover, to escalate the problem," said President Jokowi in a statement from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"We in ASEAN are committed to continuing to strengthen unity and solidity, as well as strengthening ASEAN's centrality in maintaining peace and stability in the region," he continued.

"ASEAN should not be a competition event, it should not be a proxy for any country, and international law must be respected consistently. For this reason, we really hope for real cooperation and support from ASEAN partners and guests," said President Jokowi.

Furthermore, President Jokowi said, ASEAN has great potential to become the epicenter of growth, both in the form of an abundant productive age, and abundant natural wealth.

The President said, as developing countries, ASEAN countries need understanding, need wisdom and also need support, both from developed countries and friends, to abandon the zero sum approach and take a mutually beneficial approach.

"There is a saying in Indonesia, 'win without being excited'. Which means we can be winners without demeaning others, without defeating others. For that, I invite all of us, let us be honorable winners. Win without being amazed," concluded President Jokowi.