Sugiono highlights ASEAN’s strength in building regional resilience

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3 hours ago

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono highlighted ASEAN’s success in strengthening partnerships and maintaining the resilience of Southeast Asia amid global dynamics.

“For almost six decades, ASEAN has managed differences, maintained communication, and continued seeking common ground. This is the strength that comes from ASEAN unity and centrality,” he said in Indonesia’s national statement delivered before the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Saturday (September 26).

Sugiono stated that Southeast Asia holds the world’s fifth-largest economy, supported by the world’s largest productive-age population and a rapidly growing digital economy.

Under these conditions, ASEAN serves as a unifying force for Southeast Asian nations, despite their differing histories, political systems, levels of development, and national interests, he continued.

“We do not always agree, but we have made a conscious choice to stay together. We choose to keep talking, even when agreement is difficult,” he added.

According to him, successfully upholding the principle of ASEAN Centrality allows the organization to engage with all partners and provides space for maintaining dialogue and cooperation amidst increasingly intense competition.

However, Sugiono believes that efforts to build a resilient region must be accompanied by the organization’s ability to continuously adapt to changing current dynamics.

“ASEAN must continue to evolve, so that it remains fit for purpose and beneficial for its people and the wider region,” he noted.

On the same occasion, he conveyed Indonesia’s consistent contribution in strengthening resilience in the Southeast Asian region that is rooted in Indonesia’s success in realizing national resilience first.

Sugiono mentioned that the essence of national resilience lies in ensuring that people’s lives are secure in various sectors. Therefore, Indonesia will strive to achieve food security and strengthen energy security.

In addition to maintaining the quality of life of the people, Indonesia’s efforts to build national resilience also include fostering unity in diversity and respecting human rights principles, he said.

Indonesia was represented by Foreign Minister Sugiono at the 2026 UN General Assembly. Prior to delivering Indonesia’s national statement on Saturday, Sugiono took part in a series of high-level and bilateral meetings.