Foreign Minister Retno Emphasized The Importance Of South Korea, China, And Japan To Be The Reach Of The Prosperity Of The Region

JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi emphasized the importance of ASEAN and its three partners, namely South Korea, China, and Japan, to continue to be a strong anchor to ensure regional peace, stability and prosperity.

For this reason, ASEAN Plus Three (APT) must be a positive contributor to peace.

With stable economic growth of 4.5 percent, Retno said ASEAN contributed to global economic growth. ASEAN also has the third largest population in the world, half of which are young people.

"ASEAN's great modality will be meaningless if peace and stability cannot be maintained," said Retno at the ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers Meeting in Vientiane, Laos, Saturday, as stated in a written statement, quoted by Antara, Saturday, July 27.

Foreign Minister ASEAN then appreciated the commitment of the Plus Three countries at the trilateral meeting to continue to foster dialogue in bridging differences.

Support for ASEAN's View of the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) as an inclusive platform in the region, was also revealed by South Korea, China, and Japan.

The foreign ministers of the three countries agreed on the importance of maintaining peace and stability as a precursor for the growth of a resilient region.

Foreign Minister Retno also encouraged Plus Three countries to contribute to economic growth in the region through several areas of cooperation that can be focused, including energy transitions, the digital economy, the use of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnerships (RCEP), and cooperation within the framework of AOIP.

"As a continuation of the ASEAN Indo-Pacific Forum, which was held at the chairmanship of Indonesia in ASEAN last year, currently Indonesian business players who are members of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council are preparing to form the ASEAN-Indo-Pacific Business Network," said Retno.

The APT meeting resulted in the Chairman's Statement which contained the importance of mutual respect in efforts to maintain regional stability and peace, and the commitment to continue to strengthen regional resilience, including strengthening regional supply chains and collaboration in the financial sector, digital economy, energy and food transitions.

The Foreign Ministers also agreed to encourage APT Statement on Strengthening the Connectivity of Regional Industrial and Supply Chains which will be adopted at the APT Leaders meeting at the Summit next October.