INDONESIA CALLS ON ASEAN TO BE PRO-PEOPLE ORGANIZATION

By A Fitriyanti Jakarta, Jan 29 (Antara) - The Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi has urged member countries to encourage the ASEAN to become an organization that can offer real advantages to the people throughout the region. Minister Marsudi remarked during the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) Retreat in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, on January 27-28 that it was time for the ASEAN to reduce the gap between the ASEAN meetings' results and what the people can gain from them. According to the press release made available to Antara here on Thursday, the statement about the officials' policies incorporating a real action plan for the people was agreed upon and supported by other member countries. During the AMM Retreat, Minister Marsudi also stated that Indonesia proposed a populist approach along with streamlining the meeting's agenda, which is expected to improve efficiency and effectiveness in implementing it at the ground level. Marsudi noted that those policies were also instructed by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and had been agreed with Malaysia, the ASEAN 2015 chairman, during his meeting with Prime Minister Najib Razak and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien-Loong earlier. With regard to streamlining, Indonesia and Singapore had proposed a concept paper that will be further deliberated by high-level officials of ASEAN. Besides this, Indonesia also laid emphasis on the importance of protecting ASEAN migrant workers and is of the viewpoint that regional efforts to protect them will be more effective if the Southeast Asian organization has an integrated legal framework. During the AMM Retreat, Minister Marsudi also reaffirmed her remarks on the 25th ASEAN Summit in Myanmar, in November 2014, regarding the importance of maritime cooperation among the Southeast Asian countries. More importantly, Minister Marsudi conveyed the invitations and information for the ASEAN foreign ministers to attend and participate in the 60th Asia-Africa Conference (AAC) commemoration event to be held in Jakarta and Bandung, West Java, on April 22-24, 2015. The AAC leaders' summit in Jakarta and Bandung will be held after the Senor Officials' Meeting (SOM) on April 19 and the Ministerial Meeting on April 20. President Jokowi has invited 109 state leaders to attend the 60th AAC event and participate in the historical walk from Savoy Homan Hotel to Merdeka Building on April 24, in Bandung, as the peak event to commemorate the first AAC that was held in 1955.