• World

ASEAN summit concludes with fruitful outcomes despite global challenges

• By Xinhua News Agency
• September 8, 2023 9:01 AM

JAKARTA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The 43rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit concluded here on Thursday with a series of outcomes despite rising uncertainties globally.

"The Indonesian chairmanship has achieved a lot in terms of efforts in maintaining stability and prosperity in the region," Indonesian President Joko Widodo told a press conference after the summit.

This world needs a safe house, and ASEAN is on the track to be able to perform those roles, Widodo said.

This year's summit under Indonesia's chairmanship is themed "ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth."

Numerous documents have been adopted at the summit, including the East Asia Summit (EAS) leaders' statement on epicentrum of growth and an agreement on the development of electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem, the president said.

Participating countries of the EAS reaffirmed their commitment to maintain and promote the region as an epicentrum of growth by building resilience against emerging challenges and future shocks through cooperation, according to the statement.

During the summit, ASEAN members reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen ASEAN as an organization that is robust, agile, and equipped with strengthened capacity and institutional effectiveness.

"We must hand in hand navigate the challenges to be opportunities, navigate the rivalries to be collaborations, navigate exclusivity to be inclusivity, and navigate differences to be unity," Widodo said while addressing the closing ceremony of the summit.

"ASEAN's big duties will not finish in only one chairmanship. We will continue to face the complexity of global challenges," the president said.

Indonesia handed over the ASEAN chairmanship for 2024 to Laos at the closing ceremony.

Founded in 1967, ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.