Closing of the 43rd ASEAN Summit

President Joko Widodo said that this will serve as an important foundation to open up a better future for the people of ASEAN and the world. The Indonesian leader emphasized that this is also the spirit of Indonesia's ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023, with the theme "ASEAN Stature: The Heart of Growth".

The Indonesian President stressed that ASEAN's mission is not over yet, saying that Southeast Asia will continue to face many fluctuations, complexities and challenges created by globalization.

Therefore, President Joko Widodo believes that ASEAN must join hands to turn challenges into opportunities, competition into cooperation, monopoly into inclusiveness, and differences into unity. In addition, ASEAN must also be the “captain of its own ship”.

Before announcing the handover of the rotating ASEAN Chairmanship hammer for 2024 to Laos, President Joko Widodo called on countries in the region to continue to strengthen cooperation for a peaceful and prosperous ASEAN, and to make the world “a better place for everyone”.

For his part, Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone congratulated Indonesia on its outstanding achievements during its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023 and said that Laos will continue the cooperation achievements that ASEAN has achieved during Indonesia's ASEAN Chairmanship year.

Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone emphasized that as the rotating ASEAN Chair in 2024, Laos will focus on implementing the next conferences, promoting connectivity, seeking cooperation opportunities, and addressing challenges in the context of constantly changing geopolitics.

The Lao Prime Minister affirmed that ASEAN needs to continue connecting to narrow the gap between member countries, promote dialogue, strengthen internal unity, expand cooperation with partners as well as resolve differences to maintain peace, stability and development in the region.

Finally, the Head of the Lao Government pledged to cooperate in enhancing leadership capacity, strengthening unity to ensure peace, stability and development, promoting digital transformation and economic integration, promoting people-to-people exchanges and cooperation in combating climate change.