Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono whose country will take the presidency of ASEAN addresses the colosing ceremony of the 17th summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its related meetings in Hanoi on October 30, 2010.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – “ASEAN Community in a Global Community of Nations” will soon echo throughout the region, during Indonesia’s Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2011, according to the Jakarta-based ASEAN Secretariat on its official website, Wednesday.
“The theme anticipates the successful attainment of ASEAN in Community in 2015,” said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono when speaking at the closing ceremony of the recently-concluded 17th ASEAN Summit in Ha Noi, Vietnam.
Prior to the announcement of the theme, President SBY, as he is affectionately known in Indonesia, also unveiled the ASEAN Chairmanship 2011 logo. A logo design contest was opened to all Indonesian citizens from August to September and garnered almost 300 entries. Edi Jatmiko, a design student, emerged the winner.
“ASEAN must enhance its collective contribution, towards addressing various global issues. A positive contribution to the global community of nations,” he added.
Addressing Indonesia’s main plans during its Chairmanship, President SBY said that Indonesia would accelerate the implementation of agreed commitments and consensus. The host country of the ASEAN Secretariat would also seek to enhance ASEAN’s influence in the global landscape.
During his speech, President SBY recalled Indonesia’s role in chairing ASEAN in 2003, a landmark period during which the vision and concerted efforts to transform ASEAN from an association to a Community was resolved.
According to the ASEAN Charter, the Chairmanship of ASEAN shall rotate annually, based on the alphabetical order of the English names of Member States. In principle, 2011 would have seen Brunei Darussalam succeeding the Chairmanship from Viet Nam, and Indonesia would have taken over from Cambodia in 2013.
However, during the 16th ASEAN Summit in April in Ha Noi, the Member States reached a unanimous decision to grant Indonesia’s request for a swap of the Chairmanship with Brunei for 2011. A Member State assuming the Chairmanship shall chair the ASEAN Summit and related summits, the ASEAN Coordinating Council, the three ASEAN Community Councils, relevant ASEAN Sectoral Ministerial Bodies and senior officials, and the Committee of Permanent Representatives.
In 2013, should Indonesia assume the Chairmanship of ASEAN, it will in addition host APEC meetings. In view of this packed schedule, the country asked for the swap.
“For Indonesia, ASEAN has always been – and will remain – the cornerstone of our foreign policy,” President SBY said.
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