President Jokowi warned G20 leaders about what was at stake if the war in Ukraine continued and the group failed to deliver on policies affecting billions of people in the developing world.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo appealed to his fellow Group of 20 leaders on Tuesday to show restraint and not allow the world to “fall into another cold war”, as he pushed for the G20 Summit in Bali to deliver results despite the polarizing effects of the war in Ukraine.
Expectations for the two-day summit to deliver concrete results have been limited in light of the lack of consensus in previous G20 ministerial meetings. Member states have been split between those seeking to condemn Russia for its belligerence and those that are worried about the effects such a statement might have.
But Jokowi sought to strike a chord with both sides, warning them about what was at stake if the war continued and the G20 failed to deliver on policies affecting billions of people in the developing world.
“We must end the war. If the war does not end, it will be difficult for the world to move forward,” Jokowi said in his opening remarks, delivered without direct reference to either Russia or Ukraine.
He also called on G20 leaders to use their wisdom and take responsibility for all the “people of the world”, while acknowledging the “tremendous effort” it took to get them to sit together despite their differences in opinion.
“Today, the eyes of the world are fixed upon our meeting. Are we going to achieve success, or will we add more to our failures? As I see it, the G20 has to succeed, and it cannot fail,” the President said.
“We should not divide the world into parts. We must not allow the world to fall into another cold war.”
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