But this year’s event is likely to be overshadowed by the United States-led Summit for Democracy, which begins on the same day and promises to feature the leaders of the free world.

In spite of this, the government is upbeat about the BDF’s continued relevance in global discourse on democracy, as it touts the inclusivity of the forum, now in its 14^th year.

“We don't want to express prejudice against the emergence of [events similar to the BDF] like the Summit for Democracy because, of course, the more forums there are to discuss democracy, the better,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah in Jakarta recently.

“We can compare the output of both discussions and [how they are] received by countries and the wider international community,” he said.

US President Joe Biden’s high-level meeting has drawn criticism for its invitation-only participant list, which excludes leaders of authoritarian countries like China and Russia.

Of the 10-nation ASEAN, only the leaders of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines have been invited to the global summit.

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