JABAR EKSPRES – Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Kao Kim Hourn thinks that Indonesia has strategically played an important role in holding and running the ASEAN chairmanship this year.

“I think Indonesia is very smart strategically in playing a very important role in this year’s ASEAN chairmanship,” Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn said in a special interview with ANTARA on Thursday afternoon, quoted by Jabar Ekspres, Thursday (6/8).

According to him, the choice of theme in Indonesia’s ASEAN Chairmanship this year also shows that ASEAN is indeed an important regional organization.

“Under the leadership of Indonesia, ASEAN is seen as important … because the theme ‘ASEAN Matters’ implies that ASEAN matters to the region and the global community, that is, what we do and how we behave for the role that we (ASEAN) play,” said Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn.

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In addition to the “ASEAN Matters” pillar, he considered that the “Epicenter of Growth” pillar in the theme was also the right choice because ASEAN now has rapid economic growth that deserves to be considered as a regional growth center.

“Regarding ‘Epicenter of growth’… we (ASEAN) are now indeed the epicenter of growth. In terms of the economy, economic growth in the ASEAN region this year is estimated at 4.7 percent, far above the predicted average growth of the global economy,” he said.

In its chairmanship of ASEAN this year, Indonesia carries the theme “ASEAN Matters: Epicenter of Growth” which means ASEAN is important and relevant as the center of world growth.

There are three important elements in the meaning of ASEAN Matters, namely strengthening ASEAN capacity and effectiveness, ASEAN unity, and ASEAN centrality.

While under the Epicenter of Growth pillar, Indonesia seeks to ensure important elements in the region consisting of health architecture, energy security, food security, and financial stability.