OTR: Summit Season in Asia 2023

It's that time of the year again, when powerful leaders across the globe fly to Asia for a series of summits, meetings, and dialogues. These are what's in store for this week:

43rd ASEAN Summit, 4-7 September 2023 - Jakarta, Indonesia

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit is the highest policy-making body in ASEAN, comprising the heads of state or government of the ten Southeast Asian Member States (the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Laos).

The summit typically takes place twice a year, and the Indonesian government is currently hosting this year's final gathering with the theme ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth.

The ten ASEAN leaders are anticipated to discuss enhancing ASEAN integration and expanding collaboration in key sectors such as the digital and green economies.

Pressing issues in the region, such as the Myanmar crisis, maritime security, and the escalating tension in the South China Sea, will also be tackled.  

Next ASEAN Summit hosts:

2024 - Laos

2025 - Malaysia

2026 - The Philippines 

26th ASEAN Plus Three Summit, 6 September 2023 - Jakarta, Indonesia

In addition to the ASEAN Summit, the ten nations also meet with their East Asian neighbours (China, Japan, and South Korea), through the ASEAN Plus Three (APT) Summit.

In 1997, an informal summit in Malaysia kicked off the APT cooperation process.

This forum was formalised in 1999, following the release of a joint statement by leaders outlining the main objectives, principles, and future directions of the APT nations' cooperation.

The APT Summit aims to deepen and strengthen East Asian cooperation and regionalism, with ASEAN serving as the driving force.

The ten ASEAN nations, along with three East Asian powerhouses, meet to discuss economics, politics, trade, finance, agriculture, tourism, social welfare, energy, and many other topics.

18th East Asia Summit, 7 September 2023 - Jakarta, Indonesia

Moving to a wider collaboration, the 18th East Asia Summit (EAS) is also taking place in Jakarta.

This time, the leaders of all ten ASEAN nations as well as the leaders of the three East Asian nations gathered to meet with their Indo-Pacific counterparts - India, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and the United States.

Traditionally, the chairman of the EAS is the current ASEAN Chair, which in this case, Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

Unfortunately, this year's EAS is not as exciting as most anticipated due to the absence of several prominent world leaders.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is skipping this year's EAS. Chinese Premier Li Qiang will speak on his behalf. 

Another no-show is U.S. President Joe Biden, instead Vice President Kamala Harris will take his place.

Russian President Vladimir Putin won't be present as well, he will be represented by his foreign minister, Seregy Lavrov.

G-20 Summit, 9-10 September 2023 - New Delhi, India

After a long week in Jakarta, some world leaders will be heading next to New Delhi this weekend. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to host a group of 20 leaders for the annual gathering of the intergovernmental forum.

This is the first time India will host such a powerful group of world leaders.

The Summit for the Group of Twenty (G20) is a premier forum for international economic cooperation. It plays an important role in shaping global architecture and governance on all major international economic issues.

Experts believe that leaders should start addressing the elephant in the room: Russia's war in Ukraine, which dominates international discourse. So far this year, the bloc has failed to issue any joint statements as it is deeply divided over language referring to the war in Ukraine.

While Russia and China are against blaming Moscow for the war in Ukraine, Western countries, including the United States, France, and Canada, have sought a strong condemnation as a necessary condition for a joint statement.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin won't be attending the international forum, while most of their western counterparts have already confirmed their attendance, including U.S. President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeu, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Commonly, during these summits, bilateral meetings between leaders also occur. Initially, it was expected that Biden and Xi would have their bilat in India. Disappointingly, that's no longer transpiring.

Next G20 Summit hosts:

2024 - Brazil

2025 - South Africa

-Asia Media Centre