Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will meet with his counterparts from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta, Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
A regular meeting of the foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will be held in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta from July 9-14. A total of 29 countries are expected to attend the ministerial and related meetings, which will include courtesy calls by delegations from Brunei, Timor-Leste, Norway and Pakistan. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will attend the July 13-14 meetings.
The parties will discuss, among other things, strengthening of the ASEAN’s capacity and institutional effectiveness to better respond to the current geopolitical challenges as well as the situation in Myanmar and humanitarian assistance to the country following Cyclone Mocha.
The ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting (AMM) will be held in Jakarta starting next week. Indonesia, as the host of AMM, emphasizes the importance of stability, security, and peace in the region. Consequently, ASEAN member countries can promptly revive their economies and provide prosperity for their people.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno LP Marsudi, stated in a meeting with the media in Jakarta on Friday, 07/07/2023, that such rivalry is still strongly felt in various multilateral and international meetings. In that situation, it is crucial for ASEAN to strengthen solidarity and unity in order to play a central role. "With this centrality, ASEAN can play a role in maintaining peace and stability in the region," she said.
To encourage a stronger and meaningful role of ASEAN in maintaining stability, peace, and economic resilience in Southeast Asia, Retno stated that ASEAN must prioritize several things in the upcoming meeting. This includes strengthening and upholding the principles of the ASEAN Charter and various codes of conduct, strengthening Confidence Building Measures (CBM), urging nuclear weapons states (NWS) to accede to the protocols of the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty, settling guidelines for accelerating the settlement of codes of conduct in the South China Sea, and completing the formation of ASEAN's Maritime Vision.
In addition, ASEAN will also be more active in involving countries in the South Pacific Islands through the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IORA). These efforts, according to Retno, will be discussed by senior officials of ASEAN member states who have started a series of meetings on Saturday, 08/07/2023. It is hoped that at the end of the meeting, there will be 12 documents produced by the ministers.
"The negotiation is still ongoing to this day and will continue until the meeting takes place, including the joint communiqué with ASEAN foreign ministers that reflects the development of ASEAN's work, future cooperation priorities, and regional and global issues of concern," Retno said.
Director General of ASEAN Cooperation Sidharto R Suryodipuro stated that discussions with nuclear-armed countries are ongoing after attempts to have them sign the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone Treaty (SEANWFZ) since 2012 have not made progress. "This is being tried to be restarted," he said.
Although there is pressure from Indonesia as the Chair of ASEAN for countries that possess nuclear weapons to sign the SEANWFZ, Sidharto mentioned that there was no specific discussion regarding military cooperation with Australia, Britain, and the United States (AUKUS).
Series of AMM activities
Retno also explained several activities that will take place at the AMM/PMC (Post Ministerial Conference) next week. Over four days, foreign ministers will hold 18 meetings, including the ASEAN+3 (APT) meeting, East Asia Summit (EAS), and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meeting. In addition, there will be trilateral meetings involving ASEAN Chair and ASEAN Secretariat with the Governments of Norway and Turkey.
Retno said that so far the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had received confirmation of the presence of 29 foreign ministers from ASEAN partner countries. One of them is Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
The certainty regarding Lavrov's presence was also conveyed by the Russian Embassy in Jakarta on Thursday (7/6/2023). Through the Russian Embassy's Telegram channel, Lavrov was mentioned to be attending the ARF and EAS activities on July 13-14.
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