LABUAN BAJO - President Joko Widodo welcomed the arrival of state leaders at the 42nd ASEAN Summit ahead of a series of summits in Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara.
President Jokowi stands in front of the lobby of the Meruorah Hotel, Labuan Bajo, which is the location of the summits to welcome, greet, take pictures together, and invite to wait for a moment in the hotel lobby.
Cambodian Prime Minister (PM) Hun Sen, became the first ASEAN country leader to arrive at the venue and was greeted by President Jokowi.
Then Prime Minister Laos Sonexay Sryptone, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Brunei Sultan Darussalam Hassanal Bolikah, Timorese Prime Minister Leste Taur Matan Ruak, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Thailnd Don Pramudwinai, and Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh.
Among all ASEAN member countries, only Thailand and Myanmar have heads of state/head of government not attended the 42nd ASEAN Summit.
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is absent because the White Elephant Country is preparing for the election vote which is scheduled to take place on May 14, 2023.
Meanwhile, Myanmar was not politically invited to the 42nd ASEAN Summit, continuing its stance on excluding the Myanmar junta in high-level meetings of the region's organization.
This is because the military is considered to have failed to implement the Five-Point Consensus, namely a peace plan initiated by ASEAN leaders in April 2021 to help end the conflict in Myanmar.
Meanwhile, PM Ruak was present at the capacity of observers, following their status which was in principle accepted as the 11th member of ASEAN by Southeast Asian leaders at Phnom Penh, Cambodia, last year.
Timor Leste's membership became one of the discussions at the 42nd ASEAN Summit, where Indonesia's chairmanship in ASEAN 2023 also provided a portion of focus on preparing road maps so that Timor Leste could become a full member.
After welcoming all leaders of ASEAN Summit participants and those representing, President Jokowi had a chance to chat with them in the hotel lobby.
Furthermore, ASEAN leaders are scheduled to undergo a joint photo session in the back yard of the hotel lobby, with the background of the phinisi ship that has the accent of the "ASEAN Indonesia 2023" logo.
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The leaders will then start the plenary session of the opening of the ASEAN 42nd Summit, led by President Jokowi.
In this chairmanship, Indonesia raised the theme ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth which means ASEAN is relevant and important as a center of world growth.
Indonesia aims to strengthen the capacity and effectiveness of ASEAN institutions so that it can answer the challenges of the next 20 years.
Indonesia will guard the area towards ASEAN 2045 which needs to be more adaptive, responsive, and competitive in an ASEAN way that is in line with the principles of the ASEAN Charter.
In its chairmanship, Indonesia invites ASEAN countries to play an active role and offer ideas and solutions for peace and prosperity in the region.
As chairman, Indonesia also aims to strengthen economic recovery and make Southeast Asia a sustainable growth engine.
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