REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi attended the 49th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which took place at the ASEAN Secretariat here on Monday.

"We are trying to reflect on what we have done in the course of these 49 years, such as in the ASEAN Community, but much more still needs to be done," the foreign affairs minister stated in her speech.

Retno noted that there were challenges related to the situation in the region apart from the global ones that need to be faced by the ASEAN member countries.

"ASEAN is our home. There are many challenges related to the situation in the region and the world. Therefore, every member of the ASEAN should really be able to keep our home safe, so that we can create and maintain peace and stability in the region and the world," she affirmed.

Further, Retno added that every ASEAN member country should be committed and contribute to creating peace and stability in the region. "Stability in the region is something that cannot just be created, but it should be established and maintained over time," she emphasized.

The foreign affairs minister also stressed the importance of ASEAN countries making steady efforts to establish and strengthen unity and centrality in the region in future. "ASEAN's unity and centrality must be strengthened, so that we can forge ahead as a great community based on three strong pillars," the minister stated.

The minister affirmed that all future activities carried out by ASEAN member countries should offer benefits that can be felt by people in the region. "The future of ASEAN should benefit the people. However, it is the people who will be the beneficiary in the ASEAN, and therefore, there should be no distance between the ASEAN and its people," she noted.

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