PBB: ASEAN Has A Good Position In Building Inter-National Understanding Bridges

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. (Wikimedia Commons/IAEA Imagebank)

JAKARTA - United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said ASEAN has a good position to build bridges of understanding between countries and cultures.

"ASEAN has a good position to build bridges of understanding between countries and cultures as tensions and risks arise between the East and the West," Antonio said as quoted by ANTARA, Friday, September 1.

Indonesia serves as Chair of ASEAN 2023 and carries the theme ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth.

ASEANMatters make ASEAN relevant and important for the people of Indonesia, ASEAN and the surrounding area, while the Epicentrum of Growth is Indonesia's desire to capitalize ASEAN as the center of economic growth.

Regarding the 13th ASEAN-PBB Summit in Jakarta on September 7, 2023, the Secretary General of the United Nations will attend the event.

"The UN-ASEAN summit will be an opportunity to advance our cooperation in a dynamic and always changing world," Antonio said.

Antonio said he would focus on supporting ASEAN's five-point plans and efforts to engage all parties in the conflict in Myanmar in dialogue.

He also stressed that the de facto authorities must release all detained political leaders and prisoners and launch an inclusive process to restore Myanmar as a democratic institution.

Antonio said that diplomacy is becoming increasingly important to overcome tensions in the growing multipolar world.

"Dialogue remains the only way to find a common approach and a common solution to the global threats and challenges we face," Antonio said.

Previously, Indonesia had held the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, in May 2023 and the ASEAN 43rd Summit series was held in Jakarta on September 4-7, 2023.

ASEAN consists of ten countries, namely Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. At the ASEAN 2022 Summit, Timor-Leste has been accepted in principle as the 11th ASEAN member.