Credibility through visibility

The history of modern multilateral diplomacy will record as an interesting and original event the gradual development of the so far insufficiently known Forum for East Asia and Latin American Cooperation (FEALAC), so persuasively presented by professor Simon Tay in the above-mentioned article.

Indeed, there are real and substantive opportunities to transform FEALAC into an effective and efficient framework of bi-regional cooperation. When 36 countries aspire to increase mutual understanding, trust, political dialogue and friendly cooperation, with a view to enriching and sharing experiences and developing new partnerships, multilateral diplomacy has to prove its instrumentality in achieving such generous objectives.

FEALAC is a promising expression of inter-regionalism, and through a proactive diplomacy it might help build bridges between regionalism and multilateralism. Using negotiation as the first function of diplomacy offers chances to reach win-win situations between the two fastest-growing regions in the world. Their relationships cannot  remain sparse and sporadic.

Therefore, institutionalising adequate mechanisms of dialogue and cooperation between Asia and Latin America should be a firm political and practical priority in the years to come. From this perspective, Asean’s member states will have an important role to play in giving tangibility to FEALAC’s ambitious vision. The mass media can considerably help in this regard by giving more visibility to this unique forum. In multilateral diplomacy there is no real credibility without convincing visibility.

Ioan Voicu

Bangkok