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What Indonesia gets out of its 2023 ASEAN chairmanship
Indonesia’s 2023 ASEAN chairmanship will focus on the theme “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth”, with Joko “Jokowi” Widodo expressing his optimism that Indonesia will deliver its best throughout its tenure of holding the prestigious seat.
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (right) receives the symbolic gavel from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, marking the handover of the ASEAN chairmanship from Cambodia to Indonesia, during the closing ceremony of the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and Related Summits on Nov. 13, 2022 at the Sokha Hotel in Phnom Penh. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak A.)
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ndonesia’s 2023 ASEAN chairmanship will focus on the theme “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth”, with Joko “Jokowi” Widodo expressing his optimism that Indonesia will deliver its best throughout its tenure of holding the prestigious seat. To ensure its 2023 chairmanship, Indonesia even switched places with India so it could hold the Group of 20 presidency this year instead of next year.
Jokowi also expressed his hope that ASEAN would continue to be a stable and peaceful region to become the world’s anchor of stability in the future. He added that ASEAN must continue to uphold its dignity by promoting humanitarian and democratic values.
Further, the President said he was aiming for a rapidly developing ASEAN with a regional economy that was inclusive and sustainable, to respond to challenges in the region 20 years from now.
Indonesia’s role as the 2023 ASEAN chair cements the country’s growing prominence in the global order, with a strategic position in credit, banking and investment toward establishing potential partnerships.
As the 2023 ASEAN chair, Indonesia aims to neutralize a number of significant geopolitical and regional issues, such as by continuing to mediate in resolving the prolonged Myanmar crisis or working to ease the bubbling tensions over the Natuna Sea. It could also serve as an arbitrator between Taiwan and China or between South Korea and Japan.
Indonesia therefore has a greater role in maintaining the geopolitical balance in the region.
Indonesia can also rally ASEAN member states to collaborate in anticipation of the potential economic and food crises in 2023. The ASEAN chairmanship offers an opportunity for Indonesia to establish working partnerships in various sectors among member states to overcome the upcoming economic crisis.
Indonesia, which pioneered the Asian-African Conference in 1955, is one of the five founding states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), established on Aug. 8, 1967. Indonesian representative Adam Malik, along with his counterparts from Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, signed an agreement to form a union between the countries of Southeast Asia. Indonesia has since become renowned as a powerful mediator in the region and across the globe.
