President Jokowi Invites India to Make the Ocean an Arena for Cooperation, Not Confrontation

President Jokowi opened the ASEAN-India Summit. (Source: Screenshot of the YouTube channel of the Presidential Secretariat)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo invited India to make the oceans an arena for cooperation, not confrontation, by maintaining stability and peace so that it could become the epicenter of growth, when opening the ASEAN-India Summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Thursday.

President Jokowi said that ASEAN and India's cooperation so far has provided real benefits for the people. However, this collaboration is considered to still need to continue to be optimized.

"Moreover, seeing the huge potential of the Indian Ocean connecting 33 countries with 2.9 billion people and 1/5 of the world's GDP in 2025," said President Jokowi, Thursday, September 7.

President Jokowi further said that the potential for this cooperation could be pushed towards a blue economy, food security, maritime connectivity and sustainable marine energy resources.

Apart from that, he continued, maritime crimes must also be tackled such as piracy, people smuggling, narcotics, and also illegal, unregulated, unreported (IUU) fishing.

"We must be able to make the oceans a sea of ​​cooperation, not a sea of ​​confrontation, whose stability must be maintained, peace maintained by respecting international law, encouraging a habit of cooperation and building an inclusive regional architecture," President Jokowi explained.

"This is the key to realizing an area that can become the epicenter of growth," he said.

On this occasion, President Jokowi also expressed his thanks and appreciation to PM Modi who was willing to attend the 43rd ASEAN Summit, amidst preparations for the G20 Summit in India this week.