Sugiono: ASEAN Must Deliver Tangible Benefits to People

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta — Indonesia's Foreign Minister, Sugiono, stressed that ASEAN must continue to ensure that regional cooperation delivers tangible benefits to people across its member states.

“ASEAN’s success will be measured by its ability to help people meet their families’ food needs, secure decent jobs, live safely, and look to the future with confidence,” Sugiono said during the 59th ASEAN Day commemoration held at the ASEAN Headquarters in Jakarta on Saturday, August 8, 2026.

He said ASEAN needs to further strengthen its capacity to protect people from the impacts of various global dynamics and crises, including by strengthening food and energy security and protecting citizens when crises occur. ASEAN also needs to prepare its younger generation through education and skills development so they can lead the region in the future.

The Minister stressed that ASEAN must not become an arena for rivalry among major powers or take sides with any one of them. Instead, ASEAN must always stand with its people to promote their welfare, security, and future.

He said ASEAN has important mechanisms and strengths to navigate an increasingly complex global situation. Since its establishment in 1967, ASEAN has managed to navigate various rivalries and crises in the region while upholding its core principles of unity, peace, and dialogue.

“Nearly six decades later, the regional architecture built by ASEAN has not only endured but has continued to develop and adapt,” he said.

Sugiono added that ASEAN centrality has gained increasing confidence as an anchor for promoting peace and stability in the region.

“The world today needs a bridge-builder capable of easing tensions, building trust, and keeping dialogue alive. This is the role ASEAN has played for nearly six decades,” he said.

Looking ahead, Sugiono emphasized that ASEAN must be able to chart its own course while strengthening its institutions, capacity, and resources to realize the aspirations of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045.

The 59th ASEAN Day commemoration marked a historic moment as it was the first to be attended by all 11 ASEAN member states following Timor-Leste’s admission as the bloc’s 11th member in November 2025.

The event was attended by the ASEAN Secretary-General, diplomatic communities from ASEAN member states in Jakarta, as well as representatives of various diplomatic missions in the Indonesian capital.