JakartaGlobe-Sept 12
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi on Tuesday looked back on the tough negotiations that took place ahead of the 18th East Asia Summit, which only secured a deal at the very last minute. Jakarta last week hosted world leaders for a series of talks at the 43rd ASEAN Summit with the East Asia Summit — also known as EAS — being one of the sessions. The EAS brought together leaders from the 10 ASEAN member states along with the US, China, Russia, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Australia. While guests were busy jamming to the music, Retno was busy trying to convince the other EAS delegates. “Negotiations got stuck … particularly on matters related to geopolitics. … So I turned the gala dinner into a platform for some last-stage talks,” Retno told BTV. “I even brought a book that had all the paragraphs that I was still trying to negotiate on. I remember coming to one country’s delegate that evening. There were four of us. It was quite dark so I turned on my phone’s flashlight to show them the paragraphs that I recommended. […] I would dance for a bit then go back to negotiating again that evening,” Retno said. The 18th EAS had two outcome documents: a leaders’ statement and that of a chairman. The former required all participating countries to reach a consensus, while a chairman’s statement only summed up how the discussions took place. According to Retno, member countries came to an agreement on the documents five minutes before the 18th EAS began. The 18th EAS chairman’s statement brought up the aggression against Ukraine, saying that most members “strongly condemn” the war and called for peace in Kyiv. The 12-page document took note of the “adverse impact” of the Ukraine war. Read more at: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesia-looks-back-on-tough-east-asia-summit-negotiations
