ASEAN Secretary General Dato' Lim Jock Hoi and his delegation met Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Friday.

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo received ASEAN Secretary General Dato' Lim Jock Hoi and his delegation at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Friday, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said.

When delivering her statement after accompanying President Joko Widodo, Minister Retno said that Dato' Lim Jock Hoi's visit was to express his gratitude for Indonesia's support to ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) during his term as a secretary general of the organization.

According to Retno, Indonesia’s most beneficial contribution to the organization is the construction of the new ASEAN Secretariat.

The new secretariat building is expected to improve the performance of the ASEAN secretariat, Retno said, adding, "ASEAN meetings can also be held in Jakarta, at the ASEAN secretariat building".

At the meeting, Dato' Lim Jock Hoi also expressed confidence that Indonesia could play a good role as Chair of ASEAN next year, under the theme 'Epicentrum of Growth', which is felt appropriate to be the focus of discussion.

"Dato' Lim Jock Hoi said that the economic development in each ASEAN country is quite promising. With this promising economic development, the theme of Indonesia's leadership, 'Epicentrum of Growth', is very appropriate to put forward," Retno said.

Retno explained that today Dato' Lim Jock Hoi officially ended his duties, and in January he will return to Indonesia to hand over the position to the new secretary general of ASEAN.

"Dato' Lim Jock Hoi will leave Indonesia today (Friday) to end his duties and will return again in early January to hand over as secretary general to the new ASEAN Secretary General who comes from Cambodia," she said.

ASEAN is a geopolitical and economic organization of countries in the Southeast Asian region, which was established in Bangkok, Thailand on August 8, 1967 based on the Perbara Declaration (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Currently ASEAN members are Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Reporting by Indonesia Window