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Jokowi eyes Saudi Arabia, EU, China and US at G20 Summit
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Flags of the participating countries line a highway leading to the venue of the Group of 20 Bali Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Nov. 12. (AFP/Dicky Bisinglasi)
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s background as a medium-scale entrepreneur – more concerned with cash flow and quick results than grandiose long-term goals – has had a strong influence on his foreign policy.
So when he opens the two-day Group of 20 Summit in Bali on Tuesday, I am sure he will not just be thinking about how to stop the war in Ukraine, address the energy and food crises and alleviate tensions in Taiwan and the Korean Peninsula, he will also be seeking concrete achievements for Indonesia’s economic growth.
The summit in Bali on Tuesday and Wednesday will be one of the biggest global meetings Indonesia has hosted in the last 50 years, after the 10th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Jakarta in September 1992 and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Bogor, West Java, in November 1994.
The President likely has his bilateral agenda with his G20 guests in his mind. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi knows very well her boss is demanding concrete results, rather than lofty plans that appear only on paper.
The President is expecting real outcomes from the presence of his guests, more than just promises for a better world and condemnation of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The rewards should not necessarily take form of mega-project deals, but more importantly, should be things like access to Indonesian palm oil products.
I think Jokowi has already planned special topics of discussion with G20 leaders, particularly Saudi Arabian Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), Chinese President Xi Jinping, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and United States President Joe Biden.
Jokowi is different from past Indonesian presidents, such as Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid and Soeharto, who had strong, often overrated ambitions to promote Indonesia as one of the world’s most prestigious nations. Soeharto, for example, was very eager to be remembered as the leader of the developing world when he hosted the NAM Summit in 1992. He wanted to impress the Group of Seven leaders and offered to brief them personally on the NAM when the G7 held its annual meeting in Tokyo in July 1993.
