REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, NAY PYI TAW -- Indonesia's Presiden Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo supports to boost trade in Southeast Asia during the 25th ASEAN Summit in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. He considered the trade in the region was still low.

"We have to boost inter-ASEAN trade," said Jokowi in his first address to the group, Wednesday, November 12. He expects inter-ASEAN trade to reach 35-40 percent for the next five years. The current trade is recorded at 24.2 percent.

Jokowi attends ASEAN Summit after visiting 22nd APEC Summit in Beijing, China. This is Jokowi's first international appearance after he was elected as president.

Jokowi invited neighboring countries to double Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 2.2 trillion USD to 4.4 trillion USD by 2030. He also aimed to decrease poverty rate from 18.6 percent to 9.3 percent.  

He expressed support for regional integration. "But Indonesia will not allow itself to be merely a market. Indonesia should also be an important part of regional and global production chains,” he said. Indonesia is Southeast Asia's largest economy with the rising middle class of 250 million people.

Besides pointing out the economic indicators, Jokowi asked ASEAN members to respect sovereignty. In the case of South China Sea, he urged the conflicting parties to carry out Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DoC), and speed up the agreement of Code of Conduct (CoC).

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