What Middle Powers Should Do amid Growing Nationalist Movements

Global Leaders Session on Diplomacy and Security:

Scheduled for June 1 at 12th Jeju Forum

 

Amid the increase in nationalist tendencies among the superpowers, U.S., China, and Russia, diplomatic veterans will meet 

in South Korea to discuss middle powers' role for a collaborative global future.

 

Four former foreign ministers from Indonesia, Korea, Australia - the MIKTA countries - and Singapore will take 

part in the Global Leaders Session on Diplomacy and Security scheduled for the afternoon of June 1, the second 

day of the forthcoming Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity 2017, to share ideas on how to address challenges 

facing the world today.

 

PARK Jin, chairman of Asia Future Institute and former chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs 

Trade and Unification Committee, will moderate the session to be held under the theme of "Middle Powers' Role 

for Asia's Future." Former South Korean foreign minister YUN Byung-se is to deliver the keynote speech, which 

will be followed by a panel discussion between YUN, former Australian foreign minister Gareth EVANS, former 

Indonesian foreign minister Marty NATALEGAWA and former Singaporean foreign minister George YEO.

 

The experts on diplomacy and security are paying attention to the situation in which global leadership is 

weakening as traditional great powers such as the U.S. and United Kingdom are moving towards national interest 

first policies amid deglobalization while South Korea and other middle powers are given more opportunities to 

show leadership on global issues.

 

The panelists, who were at the forefront of diplomacy as foreign minister of middle powers, will analyze the 

factors behind the threats and challenges facing Asia that are occurring on regional and global scale. They will 

also have an in-depth and diverse debate about the middle powers' role and strategy to build a future of peace and 

prosperity for Asia.

 

MIKTA (Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkey and Australia) is a consultative body of middle powers established in 

September, 2013 at the initiative of South Korea.

Middle power diplomacy was discussed in a session titled "Rethinking Middle Power and Public Diplomacy: 

Opportunities and Constraints" at the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity 2016 held in May, last year. In the 

session last year, a proposal was made that Korea should take the lead in addressing global issues unsolved by 

other countries and forming a platform for the discussion on how to tackle the unresolved issues.