President Jokowi: If We Are Not Able To Manage Differences, We Will Be Destroyed

President Joko Widodo when giving a statement after the closing of the 43rd ASEAN Summit. (Source Screenshot of the YouTube channel of the Presidential Secretariat)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo is grateful that Indonesia was able to hold the 43rd ASEAN Summit and complete its chairmanship well and smoothly, even in the midst of difficult situations and existing differences, so that it is able to produce agreements and consensus is expected.

President Jokowi said that the chairmanship of Indonesia produced many things as an effort to maintain peace, maintain and maintain regional prosperity, even in the midst of difficult situations.

"In the forum, I do say, every leader who is present has a big responsibility not to create a new conflict, not to create new tensions," President Jokowi said in a press statement after the closing of the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Thursday, September 7.

At the same time, President Jokowi continued, it is a shared responsibility to reduce the heat of tension, lighten the frozen atmosphere, create space for dialogue.

The President said the world would be destroyed if conflicts and tensions somewhere were carried and made attractive elsewhere.

"If we are unable to manage differences, we will be destroyed. If we get carried away by the flow of rivalry, we will be destroyed," said President Jokowi, emphasizing.

"This world needs an anchor, needs a neutralizer, needs a safe house," he continued.

The President further said that until now ASEAN has been on the right track to play a role as a contributor to stability and peace, as well as become an epicenter of growth.

After going through a long and difficult process, President Jokowi said that the leaders could finally agree on the EAS Leader's Joint Statement regarding the epicenter of growth.

"Once again, this is not an easy process," he said.

"Interesting geopolitical attractions that are very thick reminds me like when the G20 was in Bali. But thank God the consensus was achieved," he continued.

"ASEAN as part of the Asia Pacific region continues to work hard, collaborate and invite all parties to maintain regional peace and stability," said President Jokowi.

Indonesia and ASEAN, he continued, also continue to voice the interests of Pacific countries, the interests of developing countries, including the right to prosper their people through downstream industry.

"And the agreement in this field, Alhamdulillah, we have also succeeded in achieving the end-to-end development of the EV ecosystem which is fully supported by RRT, Japan and Korea," he said.

President Jokowi added that regarding the situation in Myanmar, ASEAN will continue its efforts.

"Indonesia through its chairman has conveyed five steps to help Myanmar, one of which is the formation of the Troika mechanism," concluded President Jokowi.