By Mohd Iswandi Kasan Anuar
JAKARTA, July 14 (NNN-Bernama) — Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Friday emphasised that ASEAN cannot develop into a platform for rivalry and proxies for any nation.
Jokowi, as he is affectionately known, asserted that for the region to remain peaceful and stable, international law must be continuously upheld.
The matter was conveyed when receiving a courtesy visit from ASEAN Foreign Ministers including Malaysian Foreign Minister Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, as well as ASEAN dialogue partners here.
ASEAN Foreign Ministers from the 11 ASEAN dialogue partner countries have been in Jakarta since Tuesday to participate in the 56th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings which ended on Friday.
According to Jokowi, ASEAN which has the potential to become an ‘epicentrum of growth’ needs the support of developed countries and friends by “leaving the zero-sum approach and adopting a win-win approach.”
As chairman of ASEAN 2023, Indonesia is determined to increase ASEAN’s contribution to the Indo-Pacific and the world, he said.
— NNN-BERNAMA
