His remarks, delivered at a special EU-ASEAN Summit to celebrate 45 years of their dialogue partnership, comes amid disagreements over EU environmental and trade policies, as well as efforts to conclude a trade deal that has languished for 15 years.

Southeast Asia, Jokowi said, had become a world economic powerhouse and so a partnership with ASEAN would benefit the EU. But going forward, he asserted, Europe would have to let ASEAN nations to do what was necessary to develop their own economies.

“We have worked through many challenges together. Our partnership has also achieved many good outcomes. But I must acknowledge that it is not all smooth sailing,” he said at the EU headquarters in Brussels.

“Partnerships must be based on equality. There must be no coercion. There can no longer be one side that always dictates to the other and assumes that ‘my standard is better than yours,’” the President continued.

His comments alluded the EU’s sustainability standards for imports, which critics say put disproportionate pressure on developing nations.

In the long run, the EU is seeking to significantly reduce its use of palm oil, Indonesia’s largest export commodity, over the product’s connection to deforestation.

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