VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

ASEAN leaders will again hold High Level Conference in 2019. The ASEAN Summit which will be held starting from June 20 in Bangkok, Thailand takes the theme "advancing partnership for sustainability". Thailand's decision or determination to host the summit took place about a year ago at the ASEAN Summit that took place in Singapore. Attention is certainly not solely on the relay of ASEAN leadership and the determination of Thailand as the host, but more importantly is the essence of the results of the 2019 Summit. The theme, strengthening partnerships for the sustainability of ASEAN economic growth, is interesting to note. Data shows that the ASEAN economy is currently in the top six in the world. The opportunity to continue to increase is certainly wide open. In fact, Thailand is optimistic that by 2030, the ASEAN economy will rise to become one of the world's top four in the economic field. Opportunities to continue to grow is along with various challenges. The dynamics of the global economy that are colored by the occurrence of trade wars between China and the United States, need to be anticipated. The political dynamics both within ASEAN and in other regions have become a challenge for ASEAN. It cannot be denied, that external economic and political dynamics will still have an influence on ASEAN's economic future. Apart from that among several ASEAN countries themselves, the issue of the South China Sea also still requires attention. In such a perspective, the ASEAN Summit in Thailand, which is about to begin, needs to get attention. Not just the formulation of the declaration but the commitment of the ASEAN leaders to bring it to reality.