ASEAN leaders have recommended that ASEAN experts come up with a robust and inspirational vision for the next 20 years, according to the ASEAN chairman’s statement issued yesterday (Thursday).

The decision was made to develop the 2045 vision after the leaders held the first interface with the High-Level Task Force on the ASEAN Community Post-2025 Vision (HLTF-ACV) in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia.

At the meeting, the leaders encouraged the task force to develop a visionary, inspirational, robust, comprehensive, inclusive and forward-looking ASEAN Community Post- 2025 Vision. In addition, the leaders also want to see the drafting be done in an effective, efficient, balanced, inclusive, participatory and coordinated manner.

The Indonesia chair proposed recently, at the HLTF-ACV meeting, that the 10-year vision is too short due to the rapidly changing geopolitical environment. The proposal to add 10 more years was then submitted to the ASEAN leaders, who immediately agreed with the idea. There will be a mid-term review of the vision of the first ten years in 2035.

The task force has already submitted the list of core elements of the ASEAN Community’s Post-2025 Vision to the ASEAN leaders. For the next three years, the ASEAN vision in 2045 will be crafted and completed by the task force. The leaders recommended that the drafters need to balance pragmatism and ambition, so that ASEAN remains stable and progressive while staying true to its identity.

The current ASEAN vision places greater emphasis on the peoples of ASEAN and their well-being, including strengthening ASEAN organs and the Jakarta-based secretariat. It also ensures fundamental freedoms, human rights and better lives for all ASEAN peoples. In addition, it pledges to strengthen the capacity to deal with existing and emerging challenges, while maintaining ASEAN centrality, among others.