Philippine President Joseph Estrada is meeting counterpart Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico, while Russian PM Vladimir Putin is hosting Vietnam premier Phan Van Khai. Mobile phone ditties sound constantly. Diplomats, junior officials and policemen mingle in the carpeted hallway looking as if they are guests at an impromptu cocktail party. Thank goodness for everyone that smoking isn't allowed. In his holding room, Chuan sits in one corner, given plenty of space by the dozen or so members of his party.
Somebody goes for coffee, but it never arrives.
The PM says little, preferring to sit pensively listening to the conversation. His advisers chat and joke, though there are intermittent periods of silence. They are next up on Zedillo's list. Half an hour later, Chuan is across town, striding into the Heritage Tower hotel. He has a bilateral on the twelfth floor with Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong, who has just finished with Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa.