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Chairing ASEAN: What does it mean for Indonesia in 2023?
Amid the current global geopolitical uncertainty, there are at least three major challenges Indonesia will face during its chairmanship of the largest regional forum of the Southeast Asian countries.
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A woman poses with the logo of Indonesia’s 2023 chairmanship of ASEAN at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Jakarta on January 29, 2023, when President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo formally assumed the rotating chair at a kickoff event. (AFP/Goh Chai Hin )
D
espite many obstacles and challenges, including the Russia-Ukraine war and global recession, host nation Indonesia managed to ensure that the high-level conference held in Bali on November 15-16 2022 produced a joint declaration, known as the G20 Bali Leaders’ Declaration. It shows how Indonesia, under President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, has tried to be a unifying force in the midst of global uncertainty.
Now Indonesia has shifted focus and attention to its next significant challenge: chairing ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) in 2023.
This is the fifth time Indonesia has held the ASEAN Chairmanship – previously it was in 1976, 1996, 2003 and 2011. The handover of the ASEAN chairmanship from Cambodia to Indonesia was carried out at the ASEAN Summit last November.
Amid the current global geopolitical uncertainty, there are at least three major challenges Indonesia will face during its chairmanship of the largest regional forum of the Southeast Asian countries. These include bringing ASEAN nations together on global issues; strengthening regional cooperation; and pushing for more, not less, multilateralism.
1. Keeping ASEAN united on global issues
As chair, Indonesia is responsible for leading various ASEAN efforts in solving regional and global crises.
