Prabowo Leads "Black Hat Diplomacy" at the Opening of the 48th ASEAN Summit

JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto attended the opening ceremony of the 48th ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings at the Mectan Expo, Cebu, Philippines, Friday, May 8 to lead the "black turban diplomacy" of the Indonesian delegation at the highest ASEAN forum.

Prabowo arrived at Mectan Expo using the presidential car Maung Garuda. President Prabowo's arrival was then greeted by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Philippine First Lady Marie Louise Araneta-Marcos.

Quoted by Antara, Friday morning, Prabowo also greeted the host, then the three of them took a photo together in the reception room of the opening ceremony of the 48th ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings.

After that, President Prabowo, wearing a black suit and pants complete with a blue tie with blue accents and a black turban, entered the waiting room to wait for the arrival of other leaders of ASEAN member countries.

President Prabowo's arrival was then followed by the Prime Minister (PM) of Laos Sonexay Siphandone, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his wife, Wan Azizah, Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, and Prime Minister of Timor Leste Xanana Gusmão.

Then, the next leader to arrive was the Prime Minister of Vietnam Le Minh Hung, and the King of Brunei Darussalam Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah accompanied by his son, Prince Abdul Mateen.

After the welcoming session, the President of the Philippines also walked together with all the leaders of ASEAN countries into the opening ceremony room of the 48th ASEAN Summit. President Prabowo sat in the front row with other leaders of ASEAN member countries.

Traditional Filipino art performances also opened the opening ceremony, followed by a welcome from the host, the President of the Philippines.

Then, after the speech, President Marcos Jr. invited all the leaders of ASEAN member countries to the stage for a group photo, complete with the typical "ASEAN handshake" pose.

After completing the entire series of ceremonies, all the heads of state left the room and entered the waiting room to attend the core of the 48th ASEAN Summit, which is scheduled to take place at 10.00 local time.