Jakarta. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo flew to Melbourne to join other regional leaders at the three-day ASEAN-Australia Special Summit.

The conference marks the 50th anniversary of Australia’s dialogue partnership with the Southeast Asian bloc. Australia has also earned comprehensive strategic partner status with ASEAN in 2021. This status meant that both sides agreed to ramp up their cooperation further.

“We will discuss optimizing the comprehensive strategic partnership to create a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. I will push for a stronger economic integration, energy transition, and digital transformation, to name a few,” Jokowi said shortly before heading to Melbourne at the Halim Perdanakusuma airbase in Jakarta on Monday.

“I will also talk about the advancement of the collaboration paradigm and consistent respect to international laws, including on the Palestine issue,” Jokowi said.

Jokowi is planning to have some bilateral meetings with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the event. He will also have talks with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, as well as the New Zealander counterpart Christopher Luxon who also got an invite to attend the summit.

In 2023, Albanese visited Jakarta to attend the 3rd annual ASEAN-Australia Summit. All 10 ASEAN members and Australia --as well as New Zealand-- are part of the world’s largest trade pact: the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Last year also saw the signing of a protocol for a revised ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA). Both RCEP and the AANZFTA pacts have a goal to lift trade barriers by eliminating tariffs, among others. Australia reported that its trade with ASEAN amounted to 178 billion Australian dollars (approximately $116 billion) in 2022.

In a separate press statement on the upcoming summit, Albanese said building Australia’s links with Southeast Asian countries was a priority for the government. He added: “Australia sees ASEAN at the center of a stable, peaceful, and prosperous region. Strengthening our relationship ensures our shared future prosperity and security.”

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