World leaders have arrived in Thailand for their third back-to-back summit this week amid geopolitical tensions over the war in Ukraine. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC, forum, which kicks off on Friday, is officially tasked with promoting regional economic integration but is expected to be dominated by the fallout of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese are among the leaders attending the gathering. A bilateral meeting between Xi and Kishida, whose relations have been strained by historical and security issues, is among a number of high-profile talks happening on the sidelines of the forum.
Meanwhile, Philippines President, Ferdinand Marcos Jr and New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern have also confirmed they will hold face-face meetings with Xi. Also, US President Joe Biden, who is attending his granddaughter’s wedding, is not attending and will be represented by Vice President Kamala Harris. Similarly, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who skipped this week’s G20 meeting in Bali, is also not participating and will be represented by First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov.
The two-day forum comes a day after the G20 countries unanimously adopted a statement saying most members condemned the war in Ukraine, while acknowledging some countries viewed the conflict differently.
Chidozie Chima | September 13, 2024
