Jakarta. An Indonesian government official on Friday said that ASEAN countries’ contribution to global economic growth is much larger than that of the European Union, or EU, despite having far fewer members.

Usman Kansong, the director-general for public communications at the Communication and Informatics Ministry, said that Indonesia aims to make ASEAN the world’s epicenter of economic growth under its chairmanship. According to Usman, data show how pivotal Southeast Asia is to the world’s economy.

“According to data between 2010 and 2020, the combined gross domestic product [GDP] of all 10 ASEAN member states reached $3 trillion,” Usman said at a press briefing in Jakarta.

“On the other hand, the EU has 27 countries, and their combined GDP totaled $15 trillion. While ASEAN’s amounted to $3 trillion just with just 10 member states alone. This shows that ASEAN countries make a bigger contribution to global economic growth than the EU,” Usman said.

ASEAN’s real GDP growth is forecast at 5.2 percent in 2022 and 2023, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 

The European Commission reported that ASEAN-EU’s trade in goods was worth more than €215.9 billion (around $232.6 billion) in 2021. This made ASEAN the EU’s third-largest trading partner outside Europe. Bilateral trade in services totaled €93.5 billion in 2019. 

The EU is also ASEAN’s third-largest trading partner after China and the US, accounting for around 10.6 percent of the 10-member grouping’s trade.

As of 2021, China is ASEAN’s largest trading partner. The Southeast Asian bloc also reported that its total merchandise trade with China hit $669 billion in 2021.

Indonesia is leading ASEAN this year. It has also adopted the “ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth” as the theme of its 2023 chairmanship.