Jabar Ekspres – President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said the support of ASEAN parliaments is needed in efforts to build a prosperous Southeast Asian region.
Jokowi said this when attending the 44th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) in Jakarta on Monday (7/8).
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“Our task is to use global trust in ASEAN to build a prosperous Southeast Asia. That all requires the support of ASEAN parliaments,” Jokowi said.
Jokowi said based on the EU-ASEAN Business Sentiment survey involving 600 private sectors in the European Union which was just established last August 1, ASEAN is currently rated as a region with the best economic opportunities at 63 percent, followed by China at 12 percent, India at 8 percent, and 80 percent see ASEAN as an important region.
“84 percent want to increase trade with ASEAN. The survey shows that trust in ASEAN is very high and it is our duty to use that trust,” Jokowi said.
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The President said all parties need to work hard so that hopes for the welfare of Southeast Asia can be realized.
“Once again, the ASEAN Charter opens with We The Peoples, meaning that the interests of the people of ASEAN are above all,” Jokowi said.