As the only country in the region to be a part of G20, Indonesia also represents the developing world, emerging economies and island countries in the premier economic cooperation forum. Thus, in Indonesia's eyes, striving for an inclusive and equitable global recovery should be the common agenda for the summit.

This was reflected in many of Indonesia’s positions during the Rome Summit. Among other issues, Indonesia underlined the need to uphold the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDRRC), and urged the developed countries to fulfill their pledge of US$100 billion in climate finance to assist developing countries.

The Italian presidency declared "People, Planet, Prosperity" as its theme, focusing on the international response to the pandemic, ensuring rapid recovery and rebuilding with green growth for the future. Indonesia's theme continues the same spirit, although taking a somewhat different approach.

Emphasizing the need for a strong and inclusive post-pandemic recovery, Indonesia's theme is "Recover Together, Recover Stronger." The county aims to bring productivity, resilience and stability, as well as sustainable and inclusive growth post-pandemic in 2022, after the pandemic had shut down economies for the past two years.

COVID-19 has hampered the world economy and brought with it problems that no one was prepared for. However, it has also shown the resilience of different countries and their peoples. It has shown transformation and transition, in all sectors of industry; from health, trade, education and agriculture to energy, infrastructure and tourism. Learning from this, Indonesia’s G20 presidency would like to prioritize enhancing global health architecture, supporting digital transformation and energy transition.

Thus, Indonesia will focus on strengthening global health architecture, not only in response to the current COVID-19 pandemic, but also to ensure preparedness against other potential pandemics in the future. It elevates the discussion on the digital economy within the G20 into a working group to translate this into actions. Indonesia also vows to pursue the energy transition in synergy with energy security, accessibility and affordability.

The agenda of the Indonesian presidency is already underway, as it commences in December with the first Sherpa Meeting in Jakarta and the first Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting in Bali. There, the vision and priority issues will be explained to the G20 Sherpas and Deputies, setting up the discussions for the whole presidency.

Indonesia assumes its G20 Presidency in a world marked by a fragile and uneven recovery. While the global economy has shown some recovery in 2021, with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projecting sound 5.7 and 5.9 percent economic growth, respectively, concerns arise that the recovery will remain uneven and volatile.

Moreover, many countries are facing the fourth wave of the pandemic, while others have not recovered from the previous wave. There are supply disruptions, vaccine gaps and vaccine nationalism that hampers the global recovery. Indonesia believes that to address and provide a solution that is beneficial for everyone, G20 countries need to come up with concrete multilateral efforts to end the pandemic and build forward better.

Most important of all is the determination to come up with an inclusive recovery solution. This means that developing countries can have the capacity to fulfill their necessities, whether medicines, equipment or human resources so that they can have access to more affordable clean energy and are more resilient against the impacts of climate change. The least developed countries should have greater fiscal capacities to kick-start the sluggish economy with debt-service suspension. Being a developing country itself, Indonesia's presidency will showcase a different light for the other countries, representing a view that may have been overlooked in the past.

While the goal of the presidency is clear, ensuring smooth delivery throughout the presidency requires a new set of elements. Firstly, consolidating preparations on all fronts, both in terms of substance and logistics, for a seamless presidency. The country is also trying to showcase Indonesia’s resilient, sustainable and dynamic growth, that Indonesia is open for business and ready to move forward.

Secondly, promote dialoguing and partnership between countries and international organizations. As underlined by Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi on many occasions, working toward the interests of many, especially developing countries and vulnerable groups, is in the DNA of Indonesia’s foreign policy.

Finally, to ensure a smooth presidency, Indonesia should establish an encouraging climate for dialogue and collaboration among various stakeholders on a range of issues related to the economy and development. The country aims to build a bridge and bring the G20 to the grassroots level. Indeed, to achieve an inclusive response to pressing global issues, all stakeholders will need to work together for it to be successful.

Popular

Indonesia not affected by Southeast Asia-wide heat wave: BMKG

Residents fear for safety as Mount Ruang volcano erupts

In defense of Indonesian democracy