VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia is holding the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting/Post Ministerial Conference (AMM/PMC) which is held in Jakarta from 11 to 14 July 2023. Prior to the AMM/PMC meeting, a technical level meeting and a senior official level meeting (SOM) were held on Saturday (8/7).

The AMM/PMC was opened by Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno Marsudi in Jakarta on Tuesday (11/7).

Minister Retno Marsudi said in Jakarta last Friday (7/7) that the AMM/PMC meeting is attended by 29 countries, along with the ASEAN and European Union Secretariats. According to Minister Retno, as of Friday July 7, 1,165 delegates and more than 400 domestic and foreign journalists have registered.

In fact, the AMM meeting, which will be followed by a summit at the end of the year, will prove that Indonesia is the chairman of ASEAN 2023 which carries the theme 'ASEAN Matters; Epicentrum of Growth'. Because, at the current situation, the world recession threatens many countries and the effects of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and post-Covid-19.

Countries in Europe which are destination countries for trade and agricultural economic production in the ASEAN region have experienced a decline in demand. Because of this, the slogan Epicentrum of Growth to advance the regional trade economy is a formidable challenge for Indonesia, not to mention the issue of security in the South China Sea which is in contact with several ASEAN member countries.

Therefore, Minister Retno Marsudi emphasized that at the AMM/MPC meeting, they would discuss concrete cooperation in the framework of strengthening food security, regional health architecture, strengthening maritime cooperation and energy transition, including the electric vehicle ecosystem.

It is planned that during the four days of the AMM/PMC, 18 meetings will be held, including plenaries and retreats, as well as several trilateral meetings involving the ASEAN Secretariat and Indonesia as Chair of ASEAN.

In addition, the presence of foreign ministers from ASEAN partner countries, as reported by Voice of Indonesia’s reporters at the venue, Monday (10/7), included foreign ministers from the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, England, Japan and South Korea as well as the Russian Foreign Minister are planning to attend, and this shows how important the position and position of ASEAN is.

Because of this, strengthening cooperation in all fields with ASEAN members and ASEAN partners is a tough task for Indonesia, which is lined up as chairman until the end of 2023, including the Myanmar issue which continues to be in the world's spotlight and an obstacle to the movement of cooperation between ASEAN members and partners, both regional and multilateral. The results of the discussion of various issues in the AMM/PMC will be presented at the 43rd Summit in September.