JAKARTA: Indonesia has pledged its support for Turkiye’s bid to become a full dialogue partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, following the first joint meeting between their foreign and defense ministers.
The regional bloc currently has 11 dialogue partners, including India, Russia, and the US. The status, which grants recipients high-level access to the group’s annual summits, is seen as a way to spur cooperation across various areas, ranging from trade to maritime security.
Indonesia announced its endorsement for Turkiye after Foreign Minister Sugiono and Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin met with their Turkish counterparts, Hakan Fidan and Yasar Guler, in Ankara on Friday.
“Indonesia welcomes Turkiye’s objective to become ASEAN’s full dialogue partner, and we are ready to give our full support,” Sugiono said at a joint press conference, as quoted by Indonesian state news agency Antara.
The UK, in 2021, was the last country to be granted dialogue-partner status by the 11 members of ASEAN, making it the first country to gain the recognition since 1996.
