ASEAN 2025: AMM RETREAT FIRST FOR INDONESIA'S FM SUGIONO

By Yasmin Ahmad Zukiman

LANGKAWI, Jan 18 (Bernama) -- The ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat (AMM) in Malaysia marks Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Sugiono’s first attendance at an ASEAN meeting since his appointment to the post in October last year.

The 46-year-old who serves under President Prabowo Subianto’s “Red and White Cabinet” will meet face-to-face with his counterparts during the first ministerial-level meeting under Malaysia’s ASEAN 2025 chairmanship. 

He arrived at the Lang Merah Complex in Langkawi this afternoon, along with Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Bui Thanh Son and Timor-Leste’s Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Minister Bendito dos Santos Freitas, who will be participating as an ASEAN observer.

Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan and other counterparts arrived yesterday.

In a statement in Jakarta on Friday, Sugiono said Indonesia will continue to prioritise the unity and centrality of ASEAN.

Referring to Prabowo’s statement, he emphasised that Indonesia would like to be a good neighbour, including ASEAN member states.

“Since he was elected, even before he was appointed, President Prabowo has visited ASEAN countries. This, once again, shows ASEAN’s importance to Indonesia,” Sugiono said as reported by the Indonesian News Agency (Antara). 

Indonesia chaired ASEAN in 2023.

Later in the evening, foreign ministers are expected to attend a welcoming dinner hosted by Mohamad before proceeding for the AMM Retreat on Sunday, where a wide range of regional and international issues will be discussed.

Also in attendance are ASEAN Secretary-General Dr Kao Kim Hourn and a representative from Myanmar.

The retreat will touch on ASEAN’s strategic direction, efforts to strengthen the ASEAN Community and ASEAN’s external relations.

The two-day AMM held at the Langkawi International Convention Centre commenced today, with the ASEAN Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) taking place as an essential preparatory session for the retreat.

The SOM, chaired by the ASEAN SOM Leader for Malaysia and Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin, aims to be a platform for leaders to engage in in-depth discussions on key regional issues, formulate recommendations and align ASEAN member states in preparation for the ministerial-level meeting.

Malaysia officially assumed the chairmanship of ASEAN on Jan 1 with more than 300 key meetings and programmes set to take place throughout the year.

Malaysia previously chaired ASEAN in 1977, 1997, 2005 and 2015.

-- BERNAMA