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Business integration takes center stage at ASEAN under Indonesian leadership
Arsjad Rasjid, who chairs the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (BAC) this year, says the region could attract investment by positioning itself as an alternative to China.
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Arsjad Rasjid serves as chairman of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (BAC) in 2023. (KADIN/-)
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em>In January, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo kicked off Indonesia's 2023 ASEAN chairmanship, the second-largest international forum he has chaired, following last year’s Group of 20 presidency. As part of that presidency, Indonesia also leads the regional Business Advisory Council (BAC) this year.
ASEAN-BAC chairman Arsjad Rasjid, who is also the chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) as well as the president director of PT Indika Energy, spoke to The Jakarta Post's Aditya Hadi about programs he aims to push in his chairmanship.
Question: What is Indonesia’s overall vision for its ASEAN presidency?
Answer: On a general level, we have the motto ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth. In the BAC, we developed that into ASEAN Centrality: Innovating for Greater Inclusivity.
On “centrality”, we want to make the region a center of trade and investment, both among ourselves and other regions too. Meanwhile, “inclusivity” means we do not want to leave anybody behind.
ASEAN is a region with more than 700 million people, of which 270 million are from Indonesia. That is why, as a big brother, we want to share the models that work in Indonesia with our brothers and sisters in ASEAN.
What are the programs you would like to push to achieve that mission?
