Global Courant 2023-05-09 09:00:00
LABUAN BAJO – Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will attend the 42nd ASEAN Summit from Wednesday to Thursday.
He will lead the Singaporean delegation at the summit, which will be held in Labuan Bajo, a town on the western tip of the Indonesian island of Flores, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said on Tuesday.
This will be the first of two high-level summits to be hosted by Indonesia as ASEAN Presidency in 2023. The next one will take place in September.
PMO said Indonesia’s presidency theme “Asean Matters: Epicenter of Growth” underlines a substantive and forward-looking agenda, especially in areas such as economic integration and community-building efforts to ensure Asean’s unity and growth.
At the summit this week, ASEAN leaders will review the group’s progress and discuss ways to further enhance cooperation in member states’ digital and green economies, it added.
Issues expected to be discussed at the high-level summit include the crisis in Myanmar, the development of a roadmap towards full ASEAN membership for East Timor and the negotiations on the code of conduct in the South China Sea.
Indonesia has said human trafficking will be one of the main topics discussed at the meetings amid rising concerns in ASEAN countries over the rising number of cases in the region.
“Leaders will also discuss the geopolitical situation, with a view to preserving ASEAN’s central role in an open, inclusive and stable regional architecture,” said PMO.
“The talks are expected to address international and regional developments, including the situation in Myanmar.”
Indonesia, as ASEAN presidency in 2023, has vowed to do its best to improve the situation in Myanmar, which was in turmoil after the country’s military overthrew the democratically elected government in a February 2021 coup.
In April 2021, ASEAN drafted a five-point peace plan with Myanmar, but little progress has been made in restoring peace. Violence after the coup took the lives of thousands.
At the summit, ASEAN leaders will attend eight meetings in plenary and retreat format, seven of which will be chaired by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
More than 1,100 people, including some 776 delegates, registered for the event. Indonesia held a summit security exercise this weekend and the archipelago’s national police chief has said more than 12,000 soldiers and police will be deployed to ensure the safety of world leaders and delegates.
Prime Minister Lee will be accompanied by Ms. Lee, Foreign Secretary Vivian Balakrishnan, as well as officials from the PMO and the State Department.
In the absence of Prime Minister Lee, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong will be acting Prime Minister from May 9 to 10. Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean will take over that role on May 11.
