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Inclusion ‘key’ to Indonesia’s G20 presidency: Minister
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is set to visit Rome next month to attend the G20 Summit and the official handover of the group’s presidency to Indonesia. It will be his first trip abroad in over a year.
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Indonesia is set to host high-level international meetings starting in December as part of its year-long Group of 20 (G20) presidency, as the world enters a crucial stage of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and while inequalities persist and trust wanes among the world’s biggest economies.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is set to visit Rome next month to attend the G20 Summit and the official handover of the group’s presidency from Italy, Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said at a press conference on Tuesday. It will be the President’s first trip abroad in over a year.
It will also be Indonesia’s first time presiding over the G20, making it the sixth Asian country to chair the forum of the world’s biggest economies, after South Korea, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
The presidency begins on Dec. 1 and lasts until Nov. 31, 2022.
Airlangga said the position was a “strategic opportunity to determine the direction of the global economic recovery in a post-COVID-19 pandemic world”. He also highlighted the practical benefits of hosting the world’s most influential multilateral economic forum.
Read also: In this together: RI wants to coordinate G20 pandemic exit
Presidential perks
Indonesia, which owes much of its economic power to its sheer size, will host somewhere between 500 and 5,800 international delegates in various meetings throughout the year, including at the G20 Summit in Bali.
The government is expecting to bring in about two times more revenue than when it hosted the 2018 International Monetary Fund-World Bank annual meetings, which were also held in Bali.
Airlangga said the G20 presidency was expected to create some 33,000 jobs in the country, to increase domestic consumption by Rp 1.7 trillion (US$119.3 trillion) and to raise the gross domestic product (GDP) by Rp 7.47 trillion.
In comparison, Indonesia earned some Rp 5.5 trillion from knock-on effects of hosting the IMF-WB meetings, one senior official said in January 2019.
Airlangga noted that a mix of virtual and in-person meetings would be held, taking the country’s COVID-19 situation into account.
“For Indonesia, this is a moment to showcase the success of its structural reform through the [Job Creation Law] and the Sovereign Wealth Fund, and it will certainly encourage global investor confidence, which will speed up the economic recovery and nurture mutually beneficial global partnerships,” the minister said.
Read also: Slow COVID-19 vaccination to cost global economy $2.3 trillion: study
Display of leadership
The government is preparing for the G20 presidency in the midst of a slow national pandemic recovery, while advanced economies move toward providing vaccine booster shots and international efforts to provide vaccines to poorer nations remain inadequate.
As of Wednesday, some 42.9 million people had been vaccinated in Indonesia, about a fifth of the targeted population.
The pandemic has devastated millions worldwide, reinforcing international motivation to work toward global health resilience on top of economic recovery.
A recent report by the Economist Intelligence Unit found that the slow rollout of COVID-19 vaccines would cost the global economy $2.3 trillion in lost output and that emerging and developing countries would bear the brunt of those losses, AFP reported.
Indonesia has been accused of being overly transactional in its approach to international relations. Observers say Jokowi’s foreign policy – which privileges economic results over strategic coordination – points to his larger goal of realizing the nation’s economic potential.
Jokowi has almost never missed a G20 meeting during his seven years in office, but has made only one appearance at the United Nations General Assembly – by video. He is expected to deliver another prerecorded speech at the UNGA next week.
Some foreign policy experts have expressed hope that the country will set its strategic ambitions higher and take a leading role in shaping the international multilateral order.
The government is, in fact, seeking to take on some measure of global leadership during its G20 presidency, particularly in terms of global public health.
Read also: Indonesia should be more active in foreign policy, former ministers say
Inclusive solutions
When Indonesia assumes the G20 presidency, the world will still be dealing with COVID-19, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said, citing a World Health Organization estimate that nations would inoculate 40 percent of their populations before the end of 2021.
“There are still vulnerabilities and concerns that growth will not be evenly distributed. From a geopolitical perspective, it is estimated that the rivalry between great powers will continue, and the trust deficit remains prominent,” she said.
In response to this, Retno said, the country would promote the spirit of solidarity, cooperation and inclusiveness throughout its G20 presidency. She added that Indonesia intended to give voice to the interests of developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, as well as those of small island nations in the Pacific and the Caribbean.
“Inclusiveness is the key word. Indonesia will not only pay attention to the interests of G20 members but also the interests of developing countries and vulnerable groups. This is in the DNA of Indonesia’s foreign policy,” she said.
