8 Main Focus of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Jakarta

Jakarta: The world situation which is still filled with geopolitics makes ASEAN must strengthen its solidity. Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi said ASEAN must continue to maintain its unity so that it continues to play its centrality in the region.
 
"With this centrality, ASEAN will be able to play a role in maintaining peace and stability in the region," said Foreign Minister Retno at a press conference in Jakarta, Friday, July 7, 2023.
 
Retno said that ASEAN is currently facing the problem of Myanmar as well. "As long as peace is not owned by the conflicting parties, then peace will not occur," he continued.

Therefore, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting (AMM)/Post Ministerial Conference (PMC) which will be held next week, will be one of the ASEAN mechanisms which has an important role and will continue to be carried out based on the principles of the UN Charter, the ASEAN Charter and International Law.
 
There are eight focuses that will be put forward in the AMM/PMC meeting.
 
"First, strengthening the enforcement of the principles in the ASEAN Charter and various codes of conduct such as the TAC, SEANWFZ, and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific in order to create peace, security, stability and prosperity in the region," he said.
 
Second, said Retno, strengthen Confidence Building Measures (CBM) while starting to strengthen preventive diplomacy.
 
"In this regard, I will encourage the China, Japan and Korea mechanisms to be revitalized. This mechanism is very important for the stability and prosperity of the country,” he added.
 
The third thing, he said, is pushing for a nuclear weapons state (NWS) to access the SEANWFZ Treaty Protocol. Fourth, the completion of guidelines to accelerate the completion of the Code of Conduct (CoC) negotiations in the South China Sea.
 
Fifth, improve the formation of the ASEAN Maritime Outlook. According to Retno, this view will become a very strategic document to strengthen ASEAN synergy.
 
The sixth focus is to discuss concrete cooperation in the context of strengthening food security, regional health architecture, strengthening maritime cooperation and energy transition, including the electric vehicle ecosystem.
 
"Seventh, for the first time the implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific is mainstreamed in talks with partner countries, with a focus on discussing concrete cooperation," said Retno.
 
And the eighth focus, said Retno, is for the first time ASEAN's approach with the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) as part of the implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) to maintain regional stability and maintenance.
 
Retno said, the activities which will take place from July 11-14 will be attended by 29 countries, plus the ASEAN Secretariat and the European Union.
 
There will be 18 meetings in the four days of the activity, including ASEAN meetings with partner countries, such as India, New Zealand, Russia, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, the European Union, Britain, Canada and the United States (US).
 
Apart from that, said Retno, there was also a trilateral meeting between the Chair of ASEAN, the ASEAN Secretariat and Norway and Turkey.
 
"So far, there have been indications of 13 bilateral meetings," said Retno.
 
However, he said, this figure will continue to move. From this meeting, 12 outcome documents will be produced.
 
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