Today, September 4th, 2023, Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão participated in the second day of the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, held in Jakarta, Indonesia, where he addressed the theme of “resilience and stability in a fragmented global economy”.
The event gathers more than 2,000 participants, including world leaders and senior officials from the private sector. This summit aims to amplify the private sector’s voice in driving public policy reforms and position ASEAN at the centre of global economic networking.
During his remarks, Prime Minister Gusmão highlighted the importance of Timor-Leste’s full membership of ASEAN to “ give foreign companies and investors the confidence and security to invest in Timor-Leste”, a factor that is “fundamental for the growth of Timor-Leste’s economy, for job creation and for modernising and transforming our nation’s economic structure”.
He also expressed Timor-Leste’s willingness“ to be part of ASEAN’s ‘people-centred’ approach to growth and development”, which has succeeded in “increasing per capita wealth, life expectancy and health outcomes, lifting millions out of poverty”.
Prime Minister emphasised ASEAN’s success in “ bringing countries with diverse cultures and histories together to form a community bound by a shared commitment to tolerance, friendship and cooperation ”, allowing “ building trust between ASEAN countries and by promoting stability, unity and peace”, especially “in a region that has not always been united and cooperative” and which “not that long ago was a victim of colonisation and the Cold War”.
The speech also addressed global challenges, where “sadly, however, the great successes of ASEAN, as well as those of East Asia, are not being replicated in other parts of the world”, where “instead of cooperation and harmony, there is the widespread loss of human dignity and hope ”.
The Head of Government also pointed out that “We are also experiencing more extreme weather conditions” with “floods, droughts, cyclones and rising sea levels, due to the failure of the global powers to respond to climate change”.
Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão said that “the failure of the global economic system to develop the poorest parts of the world is resulting in fragility and dangerous declines in State capacity” and “ is fueling mass migration and the tragedies we are seeing on the shores of Europe”, as well as “extremism, transnational crime and the growth of militia groups”.
The Prime Minister expressed the need to “ establish a better international order based on a vision of human solidarity and shared prosperity ” and “that helps fragile States build resilience and stability”.
At the end of his speech, Xanana Gusmão urged ASEAN to expand its global influence and to support fragile States, stressing the importance of “democracy and human rights in building peaceful states”. “In a volatile global economy, ASEAN can contribute to building international resilience and stability through tolerance and human dignity”.
From September 5th to 7th, the Prime Minister will participate in the 43rd ASEAN Summit, also taking place in Jakarta, to discuss various regional and international issues of mutual interest with the Heads of State and Government of ASEAN Member States and Dialogue Partners.