Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi is attempting to capitalize on her presence at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Foreign Ministers' gathering in Kuala Lumpur this week by holding a series of meetings with her counterparts from the organization's dialogue partners, including South Korea, Australia, Russia and India.

Many have criticized Asean meetings as a waste of money, dismissing them as mere forums in which ministers can talk shop without actually delivering any tangible benefits. But Retno  ̶  armed with clear instructions from President Joko Widodo to utilize diplomatic efforts to produce concrete, economic results  ̶  has been refocusing Indonesia’s attention on forging economic and trade collaborations with major players in the region.

The annual gathering saw her grab hold of every opportunity to use her skills in diplomacy and seal international deals that would provide Indonesia with the most economic gain.

As co-chair of the Asean-South Korea partnership, for instance, Retno emphasized the importance of boosting economic ties between the two parties, with Indonesia assuring that $200 billion two-way trade target could be realized by 2020.

And in a discussion with her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Retno raised the issue of a non-tariff barrier against Indonesia’s exports of crude palm oil products to Russia.

We should welcome Retno’s pragmatic approach at high-profile international meetings, including Asean gatherings, as Indonesia would have a great deal to lose if its representatives fail to bring home solid and beneficial results from these events.

We, however, would like to stress the importance of promoting Indonesia's role as Southeast Asia’s most creative player in pushing for relevant and constructive ideas to solve the region’s most pressing problems. Indonesia has in the past proven its ability to successfully defuse regional tension by effectively mediating in the Cambodia-Vietnam conflict, the ongoing South China Sea dispute and the Thai-Cambodia border conflict.

As the biggest economy in the 10-nation group, Indonesia will understandably focus on economic issues during Asean meetings. However, the government should not turn a blind eye on regional security, especially with the rivalry between China and the United States heating up, as any economic achievement can only be destroyed by an unstable Asia.