PM Lee to attend ASEAN summit in Indonesia; leaders to discuss digital and green economies collaboration

SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will lead Singapore’s delegation to the 42nd ASEAN summit from Wednesday (May 10) to Thursday in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, his office said in a press statement.

This will be the first of two summits hosted by Indonesia as this year’s chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The two summits are usually held separately, one earlier in the year and with a second meeting later in the year.

The 42nd summit – whose theme is ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth – underlines a “substantive and forward-looking agenda”, especially in areas such as economic integration and community-building efforts to ensure ASEAN’s unity and growth, said the Prime Minister’s Office. 

Leaders will review ASEAN’s progress and discuss ways to boost collaboration in digital and green economies. They will also discuss the geopolitical situation, “with the view to maintain ASEAN’s central role in an open, inclusive and stable regional architecture”, it added. 

Discussions are expected to cover international and regional developments, including the situation in Myanmar.

At the previous summit in Cambodia in November 2022, ASEAN leaders had considered taking further steps to exclude Myanmar from its meetings, as the situation in the country continued to worsen.

Last week, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said her country, as ASEAN chair, had for months been quietly engaging key stakeholders in Myanmar’s conflict in an effort to kickstart a peace process as violence intensifies.