The dialogue between ASEAN leaders and the High-Level Task Force on the ASEAN Community's Post-2025 Vision on May 10, part of the 42nd ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia (Photo: VNA) Abdul Halim Iskandar, Villages, Development of Disadvantaged Regions, andTransmigration (PDTT) Minister of Indonesia, the current ASEAN Chair, said on May 12 that the 42ndAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit agreed to form the AVN,an open, independent, and bottom-up network of villages, village groups, andvillage associations in ASEAN member countries.
According to Iskandar, some Indonesian villageswould serve as pilot projects for the cooperation areas.
Villages that served as pilot projects for tourist villages comprise MangunanVillage in Bantul, Yogyakarta; Kembang Kuning Village in East Lombok, West NusaTenggara; and Sekapuk Village in Gresik, East Java, he said in a statement onMay 11.
Meanwhile, Cibiru Wetan Village in Bandung, WestJava; Duda Timur Village in Karangasem, Bali; and Kubu Village in Kubu, WestKalimantan, served as pilot projects for digital villages.
Muara Badak Ulu Village inKutai Kartanegara, East Kalimantan; Namang Village in Central Bangka, BangkaBelitung Islands; and Blendung Village in Pemalang, Central Java, function asOVOP villages, he elaborated.
Moreover, the Senior Officials Meeting on RuralDevelopment and Poverty Eradication (SOMRDPE) will be held at least once peryear and chaired on a rotating basis. The meeting concerns village developmentand poverty eradication, Iskandar remarked.
The first annual meeting for the ASEAN VillageNetwork is scheduled to be held in July 2023 in Indonesia.
The minister expects other ASEAN countries to takea cue from Indonesia about its village development policies since it has thebest in Asia, and thus, it can become a benchmark in village development.
The ASEAN Village Network is intended to serve asa platform for the exchange of worldviews and opinions on smart solutions inconfronting challenges at the village level, he noted.
"ASEAN Village Network made the voice ofvillages to be heard at the local, national, and regional level," heremarked.
AVN is an open platform for discussion andknowledge sharing concerning various issues related to village development,poverty alleviation, and village development policies in the future.
Indonesian Chair of SOMRDPE Sugito stated thatthrough this forum, countries in ASEAN can collectively foster cross-sectoralcollaboration to develop villages, so that they are able to synergize and becompetitive.
In this way, villages can contribute to thedevelopment of the nation, country, and ASEAN.
SOMRDPE is expected to be able to accommodateissues pertaining to village development, including food security,connectivity, electricity and water supply, education or literacy, manpower,migration to urban areas, land reformation, and infrastructure deficit, he said./.
VNA
