The World Must Unite In Facing COVID-19, President Jokowi Asks To Stop The War In Ukraine

JAKARTA - Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) at the ASEAN-US Special Summit in Washington DC, USA, called for ending the war in Ukraine right now.

According to President Jokowi on Friday, May 13 local time, the war in Ukraine has created a humanitarian tragedy and worsened the world economy.

“While the world should quickly recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is facing a new problem, the war in Ukraine. When the world needs cooperation and collaboration, rivalry and confrontation are getting sharper. When the world needs multilateralism that is getting stronger, unilateralism is getting more and more prominent", Jokowi said as quoted by Antara.

The war in Ukraine has worsened the world economy, with rising food and energy prices, fueling inflation. This seriously burdens the economy and slows the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in developing and least developed countries.

Jokowi also said the war in Ukraine had weakened multilateralism and had the potential to divide relations between countries.

“War won't benefit anyone. The world has no other choice but to stop the war right now. Every country, every leader has the responsibility to create an enabling environment so that war can be stopped, peace can be realized", said Jokowi.

Economic growth, said Jokowi, is also concerning. The IMF lowered its prediction of economic growth in countries including emerging and developing Asia by 0.5 percent in 2022 and 0.2 percent in 2023. The World Bank lowered its economic growth predictions for several ASEAN countries to 1.2 percent.

"For some ASEAN members, a 10 percent increase in oil prices will result in a 0.7 percent decrease in national income and an increase in wheat prices will result in a 1 percent increase in poverty", Jokowi said.

President Jokowi reiterated what he had said at a meeting with the US Congress.

"For more than five decades, ASEAN has continued to build an inclusive security architecture, put forward a collaboration paradigm, and encourage a habit of dialogue and rules-based orders. We encourage the same spirit in the Indo-Pacific through the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific", said Jokowi.

At the Special Summit which was attended by US President Joe Biden and also the leaders of the ASEAN countries, President Jokowi welcomed America's initiative through the Indo Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).

“Of course, cooperation under IPEF must be inclusive. I hope the synergy between IPEF and the implementation of priority cooperation in AOIP (ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific)", said Jokowi.

When Indonesia becomes the chair of ASEAN next year, President Jokowi also conveys his plan to hold the Indo Pacific Infrastructure Forum.

"I look forward to the participation of the United States in the forum", said President Jokowi.

Also accompanying President Jokowi at the ASEAN-US Special Summit were Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, Minister of Trade Muhammad Lutfi, and Indonesian Ambassador to the US, Rosan Roeslani.