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Indonesia keeps G20 relevant as war divides nations
Indonesia has received kudos for maintaining the relevance of the G20 forum as the Russian invasion of Ukraine — which has driven global inflation and triggered a potentially disastrous food crisis — polarized the world’s largest economies.
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Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi (on screen) delivers a speech during the Group of 20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, on July 8.
(AFP/Willy Kurniawan)
Indonesia has received kudos for maintaining the relevance of the Group of 20 as the Russian invasion of Ukraine — which has driven global inflation and triggered a potentially disastrous food crisis — polarized the world’s largest economies.
The fate of the G20 as a forum for multilateralism was on the line after Russia invaded Ukraine over its intention to join NATO, forcing the West to impose sanctions on Moscow and call for its removal from the group, whose presidency is currently held by Indonesia. The United States had even threatened to boycott the G20 meetings if Russia was invited.
The G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM) on Bali, which was fully attended by all of its members, including Russia, however, has given hope that the forum could still serve its purpose as a platform to address pressing global issues.
Speaking to reporters at the Ritz Carlton Nusa Dua, Bali, on Saturday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken commended Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi for setting an agenda that “encompasses timely and urgent issues".
The G20, he said, had worked together and succeeded in mobilizing resources in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have to bring that same commitment to dealing with the global consequences of this terrible war in Ukraine,” he told reporters.
“Indonesia’s G20 presidency came at a difficult time in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and rightly focused its agenda on the recovery. The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, of course, made things worse, sent shockwaves around the world and toppled the agenda,” said Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
