|
It is a hot Saturday morning, and a group of Indonesian women are busily cooking, their metal pans and lids clinking against each other as thick vapour rises through the air. Outside their tents, hungry attendees wait in line to be served some of their country’s delicacies while in the background, a 70s-style rock band with bob haircuts and dark sunglasses blasts popular Indonesian tunes.
Every summer around Independence Day on 17 August, Febrian Ruddyard, Indonesia’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, opens the gates to his residency in Vésenaz to the Indonesian diaspora residing in Geneva. On 6 September, it’ll be the turn of fellow diplomats from all countries to taste the Southeast Asian country’s vast array of aromas and spices.
In Geneva’s multilateral community, such events are nothing unusual. The Serpentine bar in the Palais des Nations has often doubled as a dance floor as diplomats dressed in their countries’ traditional attires serve their most popular dishes. With geopolitical relations coming to a boil, a hot, spicy stew can be just the thing to turn the heat down in the negotiating room. Food, after all, is a great “ambience maker”, according to Ruddyard, and as the seasoned diplomat admits, a great way to exert influence.
Read the rest of the story in Geneva Solutions
|
