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View all search resultsPandemic reshapes Indonesia's UN diplomacy
More than just an opportunity for leaders to give a speech, the annual United Nations General Assembly meetings offer opportunities for diplomats to meet on the sidelines to ink agreements, follow up on past cooperation and start new initiatives. However, all of that has been upended by the coronavirus pandemic.
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A
s evident from the empty hallways and chambers of the United Nations headquarters this week, the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in major disruptions in diplomacy.
With the virus still raging across the globe, countries like Indonesia have no other choice than to adapt and adjust.
For the first time in the organization’s 75-year history, world leaders are not convening in New York as the UN General Assembly moves online.
Instead of having delegates of 193 countries descend on the UN building for a week of what resembles high-level speed dating, only one or two envoys from each country will be allowed in, and once inside, they will sit spaced apart and wear masks.
It is a far cry from the scenes of past Septembers at the multilateral mecca.
Just last year, then-vice president Jusuf Kalla, who had been representing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the UNGA for the entirety of his first term, was scheduled to have 25 meetings, while Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi had as many as 60 meetings over the course of the week.
This year, Indonesia will participate in just five meetings, which includes the UN General Assembly open debate where Jokowi delivered his first ever speech – albeit prerecorded – on Wednesday in Jakarta.
