Soon the 43rd ASEAN Summit will take place in Indonesia. This time, the 43 ASEAN Summit will be held at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) on 5-7 September 2023.
Slightly different from the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, the 43rd ASEAN Summit will not only be attended by organizational leaders from ASEAN countries. However, partner countries will also participate in it: China, India, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, the Russian Federation, and the United States.
The leaders of the Pacific Island Forum, the Prime Minister of Canada, the Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank (World Bank) are also planning to attend the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta.
Agenda of the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta
The 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta has a hectic agenda for three days. President Joko Widodo is estimated to lead 12 meetings during the summit, whether conference or non-conference meetings.
President Joko Widodo will attend several conference meetings directly, including the 26th ASEAN-China Summit, the 26th ASEAN-Japan Summit, the 24th ASEAN-Republic of South Korea Summit, and the 1st ASEAN-USA Summit.
Besides, President Joko Widodo will chair the 3rd ASEAN-Australia Summit, the 45th ASEAN-Canada Summit, the 20th ASEAN-India Summit, and the 13th ASEAN-United Nations (UN) Summit. Later, President Jokowi will also chair the 18th East Asia Summit (EAS), which consists of 18 members, including the 10 ASEAN countries, the United States, the Russian Federation, New Zealand, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, and India.
Meanwhile, the non-conference meeting that President Jokowi will chair includes the opening of the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, the opening of the ASEAN-Indo-Pacific Forum, gala dinners, social events, as well as the closing ceremony and handing over of the next ASEAN Chairmanship to Laos.
Purpose of the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta
In contrast to the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, which discussed internal ASEAN issues, as well as important issues within and outside the region, the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta will discuss the development and strengthening of ASEAN cooperation with external partners.
The 43rd ASEAN Summit will discuss several important themes as the Code of Conduct regarding the South China Sea, the South East Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone (SEANWFZ), the ASEAN Maritime Outlook, the ASEAN Outlook in Indo Pacific (AOIP), and issues related to Myanmar.
As a venue for bilateral meetings between leaders of Southeast Asian countries and partner countries, the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta has a clear objective: strengthening the achievement and foundation of the ASEAN vision 2045. Hopefully, the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta will likely be the foundation of ASEAN institutional strengthening in effective and efficient decision-making.
In addition, it is expected that the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta will also produce several important agreements, such as agreements related to ASEAN infrastructure strengthening, food security, blue economy, and green economy, as well as the digital economy and payment ecosystem.
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