Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi on Monday called for strengthened cooperation between ASEAN and countries in the Indian and Pacific Oceans to promote peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.”We must work together to uphold peace, stability, and prosperity in the region,” she stated during the signing of two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) in Jakarta. The MoUs were signed by the ASEAN Secretariat with the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and with the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). The signing ceremony was part of a series of events at the 43rd ASEAN Summit to be held on September 5-7, 2023, in Jakarta. Marsudi said that countries in the Indian and Pacific Oceans are an inseparable part of the Indo-Pacific region and the region’s developments will have an impact on ASEAN countries. She noted that the signing of the MoUs was an important step to strengthen ASEAN’s relations with countries in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. “We must work together to prevent this region from becoming an arena for competition among big countries,” she emphasized.
Source: Antara News Agency