TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia has invited ASEAN member countries to develop a collective outlook on the Asia Indo-Pacific concept, according to a written statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday.

The Indonesian Government, through the Directorate General of ASEAN Cooperation, has taken the initiative to hold an ASEAN High Officials Retreat (SOM) Meeting to discuss specifically the Asia Indo-Pacific Concept in Jakarta.

The SOM meeting was attended by all ASEAN member countries at the SOM Chair level.

Located at the crossroads of the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean region, Indonesia is of the view that ASEAN`s proactive role is inevitable and urgent amid geopolitical and geostrategic changes in the region.

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Hence, the Indonesian government encourages ASEAN to be able to develop a collective outlook or framework with a focus on several fields of cooperation that are relevant to the development of regional dynamics, namely maritime, connectivity, and sustainable development agenda.

The Indonesian concept is intended to provide added value to the existing ASEAN cooperation mechanisms in realizing regional peace, stability, and prosperity for mutual benefit, especially through strengthening the East Asia Summit (EAS).

High officials who attended the meeting agreed that ASEAN needed to develop a shared insight on the Asia-Pacific Concept based on ASEAN`s centrality.

During the meeting, high-level ASEAN officials also agreed to further strengthen the basic principles, modalities and fields of cooperation under the concept of cooperation.

ANTARA