Foreign Minister Retno: Many Countries Of Kepincut Become ASEAN Partners

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Many countries are interested in becoming partners of the Southeast Asian nation (ASEAN) associations. This interest is also from all sectors.

This was conveyed by the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi in front of ASEAN foreign ministers during the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Retreat (AMM) activity.

"ASEAN accepts requests from other countries, both to access the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) and to become ASEAN partners," said Retno quoting Antara, Saturday, February 4.

According to him, the increasing application of a number of countries to establish partnerships with ASEAN underscores ASEAN's important role as an influential organization in the region and globally.

The request also shows that ASEAN has the power to resolve problems by deliberating.

This international community trust, continued Retno, must be utilized by ASEAN to continue its role as an anchor for regional stability and peace by building an inclusive and open regional architecture.

He mentioned several approaches taken to create peaceful areas, namely by building trust over mutual suspicion, prioritizing engagement rather than exclusion, as well as an open spirit of cooperation instead of competition and rivalry.

On this occasion, Foreign Minister Retno also emphasized that the ASEAN View on Indo-Pacific (ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific / AOIP), which was agreed in 2019, will be the guide for the regional organization to answer various challenges and maintain stability in the region.

The AOIP principle shows that ASEAN will not side with any major country in order to maintain peace in the Indo-Pacific region, which includes the Asia Pacific and the Indian Ocean.

ASEAN currently has established several external cooperations, both with speech partner countries and other regional and international organizations.

ASEAN's entrepreneurship partners are regional or international countries and organizations that are ASEAN's partners in various fields.

Currently, ASEAN has 11 speech partners, namely the United States, Australia, India, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Russia, New Zealand, China, the European Union (EU), and the United Nations (UN).

ASEAN also has ties to sectoral entrepreneurship partners, namely Pakistan, Norway, Switzerland, and Turkey as well as development talk partners with Germany.

In addition to the ASEAN+1 cooperation mechanism with each speech partner, ASEAN collaborates through mechanisms such as ASEAN Plus Three (APT) with Japan, South Korea and China; East Asia Summit (EAS) with 18 participating countries; and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) with 27 participating countries.