ASEAN 43rd Summit, Puan Calls The Importance Of Parliamentary Synergy-Government To Face Global Problems

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Puan Maharani (Dok DPR Photo)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, attended the opening of the 43rd ASEAN Summit (KTT) in Jakarta. He emphasized the importance of synergy between Parliament and the Government in Southeast Asia in facing global situations and challenges.

The 43rd ASEAN Summit opened by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) Senayan, Jakarta, Tuesday, September 5. The highest conference in ASEAN was held from September 5 to 7.

"The current world situation is still faced with fragmentation between countries, tensions and geopolitical conflicts, social and economic inequality, poverty, cross-border crime, deceleration trend of global economic growth, increasingly impacting threat of climate change," said Puan.

The first woman to serve as Chair of the Indonesian House of Representatives also assessed that cooperation between the Government and Parliament was needed in carrying out regional and global diplomacy. Puan said this was in order to face the existing challenges.

"Synergy between the Government and Parliament is the key in responding to increasingly complex global challenges," he said.

Puan said collaboration between executive and legislative institutions is needed to face global challenges such as climate change, economic instability, and security problems. He also referred to several concrete steps that have been taken in previous cooperation.

"How has the DPR RI played a role in supporting the Indonesian government's foreign policy, including support for policies that support ASEAN as a solid and united block," said Puan.

He added that the synergy between the DPR RI and the Government certainly includes regional diplomacy. For example, said Puan, with the active participation of the Indonesian Parliament in various international forums, including the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) which has become an important platform to discuss important issues in the ASEAN region.

"Parliaments across ASEAN member countries have a great responsibility to participate in policy formulation and carry out an effective supervisory role. This will allow ASEAN to unite in facing various global challenges," said the 44th AIPA President.

At the 43rd ASEAN Summit where Indonesia was the host, 22 countries were present. Of the 22 countries, 11 of them are ASEAN member countries including Timot Leste who has just joined. The rest are partner countries, namely South Korea, Japan, India, China, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Russia, United States (US).

The 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta also invited 9 other international organizations and additional two countries, namely, Bangladesh as Chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and Cook Islands as Chair of the Pacific Island Forum (PIF).

Since Monday (4/9) yesterday, the leaders of the country have arrived in Indonesia including Vietnam Prime Minister (PM) Pham Minh Chinh, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, Laos PM Sonexay Skedone and Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong.

With the arrival of ASEAN state leaders to Indonesia, Puan assessed that this further strengthens Indonesia's role in the eyes of the world. Especially before the implementation of the ASEAN Summit, Indonesia under the chairmanship of the Indonesian House of Representatives had successfully held the 44th AIPA General Assembly on August 5-11, 2023.

"Indonesia has become a holding trust to hold regional and world standard events. This also shows the existence of Indonesia's leadership at the world level," explained Puan.

The DPR RI is also said to have always been committed to synergizing with the Government in facing regional and even world challenges. This was seen in the 44th AIPA General Assembly, where ASEAN parliaments managed to produce 30 resolutions for Southeast Asia.

The 30 resolutions were generated from various committee meetings which are part of the 44th AIPA series. Among others, the AIPA Women's Parliament, the AIPA Young Parliament or Young Parliamentarians of AIPA, the Economic Committee that puts forward green economists in every agenda of economic cooperation between countries, the Social Committee, the Organizational Committee, and the Political Committee.

According to Puan, the 30 resolutions produced by Parliament throughout Southeast Asia are AIPA's efforts to provide input for the Government of ASEAN countries to deal with various issues, especially those closely related to the people.

The theme of ASEAN Indonesia's Chairpersonship 2023 is "ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth". Through this theme, Indonesia wants to ensure that ASEAN is not only an organization that plays an role for the region, but also for the world.

Puan hopes that the ASEAN and AIPA Summits can be a forum for formulating a joint strategy to overcome challenges at the regional and world levels. She also invited all ASEAN members to jointly formulate policies that support inclusive economic growth, stable regional security, and sustainable development.

"Through synergy and close cooperation, ASEAN will be able to overcome all the challenges and dynamics that exist. This is all for the welfare and prosperity of the people in ASEAN," concluded Puan.