42nd ASEAN Summit opens in Indonesia

Timor Leste sent a representative to the regional gathering as an observer.

They are then scheduled to attend a plenary session and hold dialogues with representatives of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), ASEAN youth, the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC), and the High-Level Task Force on ASEAN Community Post-2025 Vision (HLTF-ACV).

Delegates will examine the process of building the ASEAN Community on the theme “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth”, and exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual concern.

By hosting the summit, Indonesia expects to raise ASEAN’s voice in regional and global issues, turn the bloc into a center of economic growth and sustainability, and implement the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific.

High on the agenda will be discussions aimed at promoting growth and recovery, improving the institutional capacity and effectiveness of ASEAN, and responding to non-traditional security challenges, especially food security, energy security, cyber security, transnational crime, health resilience, and financial-economic stability.

The ASEAN leaders will also seek ways to effectively implement the Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar. At the summit last year, the ASEAN leaders noted that the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus had not made much progress.

They will consider admitting Timor Leste to the regional grouping.

After the sessions, Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh is scheduled to meet with Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos.

ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea wish to join the bloc.