VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) must build strong unity and centrality amid various challenges facing the regional grouping, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi has said.

"ASEAN must continue its work to build an ASEAN community and create a secure, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region," she said in an annual press statement, accessed from Jakarta on Thursday.

Various conflicts and tensions, coupled with natural disasters and refugee crises, are among the challenges the world has faced in the past year, she noted.

One of the challenges facing ASEAN today is the rivalry between large countries, which has continued to sharpen and is visible in the Indo-Pacific region, she said.

This has become a special challenge for ASEAN and the regional grouping needs to strengthen unity and centrality to address it, she added.

In the meantime, ASEAN is also facing regional tensions due to the political crisis in Myanmar. Therefore, solidity among member states has become increasingly crucial to be strengthened, she said.

"ASEAN has taken a unanimous stand in Jakarta in April 2021 to help Myanmar overcome its political crisis through the Five-Point Consensus in order to stop violence and restore democracy through inclusive dialogue," she said.

She further highlighted the COVID-19 pandemic, which continued in 2021, when inequitable access to vaccination prevailed and the impact of the pandemic was inevitably felt.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has also eroded the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing countries, she said.

Health diplomacy became a priority agenda of Indonesia in 2021, including at a regional level, she noted.

Indonesia led ASEAN health cooperation in 2020–2021, when it encouraged ASEAN's initiatives for overcoming the pandemic and strengthening the health resilience mechanism in the region, she added.  (Antaranews)