ASIATODAY.ID, RIYADH – Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Airlangga Hartarto and Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim also spoke at the ASEAN – Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) strategic dialogue held by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
In this dialogue, various ministers from other ASEAN and GCC countries were also present to discuss identifying how these two regions could “level up” in inter-regional cooperation and welcome sustainable growth amidst global uncertainty.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that this dialogue was very important as momentum to strengthen ASEAN and GCC cooperation, especially in terms of trade and investment. Moreover, Indonesia, Malaysia and Laos are the “Troika” of the ASEAN Chair this year.
Troika itself is a concept of rotating chairmanship of an event to ensure continuity and continuity of the issues discussed.
In 2023, the Chair of ASEAN will be held by Indonesia and the theme is “Epicentrum of Growth”. Furthermore, in 2024, the ASEAN Chair will be held by Laos, which also coincides with the next ASEAN-GCC Summit, while in 2025, the ASEAN Chair will be held by Malaysia.
Therefore, cooperation between regions is very important, especially with regard to the domestic agenda of achieving a Golden Indonesia by 2045 amidst the global economic slowdown and the current escalation of geopolitical tensions.
To strengthen the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) that ASEAN had previously established with several partner countries, Minister Airlangga proposed expanding RCEP’s cooperation partners with countries in the GCC.
“ASEAN has a large trade bloc, namely RCEP, namely ASEAN + 6 countries. “If you add the GCC trade bloc, this will become the largest mega trade bloc in the world,” said Coordinating Minister Airlangga.
“This trade bloc can facilitate various potential collaborations in the sectors of trade, investment, digital economy, sharia finance, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and youth exchanges,” added Airlangga.
Airlangga also underlined the next ASEAN-GCC Framework, the implementation of which must be clearer and more concrete. Exploration of Free Trade Agreement cooperation needs to start with GCC countries, while existing ones need to be strengthened and expanded.
This collaboration will certainly be a new investment and trade opportunity that will strengthen the economies of both regions. The agriculture, energy and tourism sectors are essential sectors, considering that these two regions have their own uniqueness, including the potential for cooperation in the fields of energy transition, carbon storage, education, culture and the halal product industry. This collaboration will also contribute to increasing food and energy security, as well as sending a signal to the world that ASEAN–GCC is a new economic power in the world.
Previously, Minister Airlangga also joined as a panelist at the Labor Markets for the Next Generation session with other world leaders at the WEF Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development. (AT Network)
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