Indonesian President Prabowo called for strengthening ASEAN institutions, including granting greater authority to the central administrative bodies and secretary-general, to more effectively tackle future challenges.
“We celebrate the 10th anniversary of the ASEAN Community and take pride in the progress made in economic integration, growth, and social cooperation, but we still need to work on enhancing execution efficiency.”
Prabowo made these remarks yesterday (26th) during his speech at the plenary session of the 46th ASEAN Summit. This was also his first speech at an ASEAN Summit as the President of Indonesia since taking office on October 20, 2024.
He also reaffirmed his strong support for Timor-Leste's accession to ASEAN and looked forward to the country becoming a formal member within the year while also suggesting that ASEAN should welcome Papua New Guinea, which is interested in joining.
“In the current geopolitical uncertainty, the stronger ASEAN is, the more weight our voice carries among major powers. We now understand that only the strong are respected.”
He emphasized that ASEAN's population is comparable to that of the EU and is also one of the fastest-growing regions globally.
“This century is regarded as the 'Asian Century,' and we should not underestimate our own strength and influence.”
Timor-Leste applied to join ASEAN in 2011 and was approved to participate in high-level meetings as an observer in 2022, and is currently undergoing a comprehensive integration assessment.
On March 10th, local media 'The National' reported that Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister Marape expressed plans to join ASEAN to benefit from Southeast Asia's economic rise, with the intention expected to be officially announced next year.