President Jokowi Welcomes ASEAN Leaders in Labuan Bajo

Thepresidentpost.id - Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) welcomed the arrival of the leaders of ASEAN countries who will attend the 42nd Summit, at the Meruorah Komodo Hotel, Labuan Bajo, West Manggarai Regency, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Wednesday (10 /05/2023) morning.

President Jokowi welcomed, shook hands, and took a photo with ASEAN leaders in front of the lobby of the Meruorah Hotel, Labuan Bajo, which was the location for the Summit summit meetings. Next, the President invited each leader to wait a moment in the hotel lobby.

Cambodian Prime Minister (PM) Hun Sen was the first ASEAN country leader to arrive at the event location. Then followed by Prime Minister of Laos Sonexay Siphandone, Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim, President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos, Sultan of Brunei Darussalam Hassanal Bolkiah, and Prime Minister of Timor Leste Taur Matan Ruak.

The next order of arrival was Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Don Pramudwinai, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

The leaders of ASEAN member countries who were not present in Labuan Bajo were from Thailand and Myanmar. Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was absent as the country will hold elections on May 14. Meanwhile, in accordance with the agreement of the previous ASEAN leaders, Myanmar was invited from a non-political level.

After welcoming all the leaders of the countries participating in the ASEAN Summit and those representing them, President Jokowi seemed to be chatting with them for a moment in the hotel lobby. 

Furthermore, the ASEAN leaders conducted a group photo session in the backyard of the hotel lobby against the backdrop of the pinisi ship which had been accented with the "ASEAN Indonesia 2023" logo. 

The leaders then attended the plenary session of the opening session of the 42nd ASEAN Summit chaired by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.