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Singapore

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

ASEAN leaders are also expected to discuss international and regional developments, including the situation in Myanmar. 

PM Lee to attend ASEAN summit in Indonesia; leaders to discuss digital and green economies collaboration
Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong meets with Indonesia's President Joko Widodo during the Singapore-Indonesia Leaders' Retreat at the Istana on March 16, 2023. (Photo: REUTERS/Edgar Su)

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. 

Mr Lee previously hosted Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the Istana in March for the Singapore-Indonesia Leaders' Retreat, where six new Memorandums of Understanding were signed between the two countries in areas like energy and sustainability.

Mr Lee had also spoken about the progress in bilateral cooperation between Singapore and Indonesia, pointing to the ratification of the three agreements under the Expanded Framework, and said both countries were "ready to break new ground in fresh areas of cooperation". 

At the summit, Mr Lee will be accompanied by Mrs Lee, Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, as well as officials from the Prime Minister's Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In Mr Lee's absence, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong will be Acting Prime Minister from May 9 to 10, and Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean on May 11.

Source: CNA/gy(cy)

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