Foreign Minister: G20 Must Be Catalyst for Global Economic Recovery
Minister of Foreign Affairs delivers press statement on the First G20 Sherpa Meeting held online, Tuesday (12/07). (Source: Screenshot)
The Indonesian Government Tuesday (12/07) officially kicked off a series of G20 meetings under the presidency of Indonesia.
The series began with the First G20 Sherpa Meeting (Sherpa Track) held in Jakarta on December 7-8, 2021, followed with the First Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting (Financial Track), to be held in the resort island of Bali on December 9-10, 2021.
During the First G20 Sherpa Meeting, Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno L. P. Marsudi maintained that the G20 must be a catalyst for a strong, inclusive, and sustainable global recovery.
“The world expects a lot from the G20 in order to be able to spearhead global recovery, to offer a concrete solution. To that end, the G20 does not have other alternatives but to take a responsibility to create concrete deliverables to respond to global challenges, including the pandemic, environmental issues, and SDG achievements,” she said.
Since the start of Indonesia’s presidency, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, the Minister added, has always underscored that G20 meetings must bring benefits to all: big countries and small countries alike.
“The inclusiveness issue is demonstrated by the big theme of Indonesia’s presidency, that is “Recover together, recover stronger”. Indonesia stresses the importance of partnership and creating enabling environment,” she said.
Sherpa Track is a G20 track that discusses economic non-financial issues, including issues concerning energy, development, tourism, digital economy, education, workforce, agriculture, trade, investment, industry, health, anticorruption, environment, and climate change.
“The focus of the first Sherpa meeting is to discuss future working mechanism and to start discussing the G20 agenda over the next year, so this meeting is essential,” she said, adding that during the meeting, she underscored three priorities of Indonesia during the current G20 presidency, including building a stronger global health care architecture, energy transition, and digital transformation.
“It is my hope that the G20 Sherpa can navigate a clear direction, transform challenges into opportunities, and certainly all of the recommendations are delivered to the G20 leaders,” she said.
For the record, the hybrid Sherpa meeting was joined by 38 delegates from 19 G20 member countries, nine invited countries, and 10 international organizations. As many as 23 delegates attended the meeting in person, with the rest attending the event online.
“For the first time in history, the G20 invites small island countries from the Pacific and Caribbean, in addition to other developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The Caribbean countries are represented by the Chair of the Caribbean Community that is currently held by Antigua and Barbuda. The Pacific countries are represented by the Chair of Pacific Island Forum that is currently held by Fiji,” she said.
The Minister further said that Indonesia also invited international organizations, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
“Specifically, we also invited WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom who is present online, while the World Bank Managing Director, Mari Pangestu, is present in person. The two international organization leaders will give a briefing on the most recent development of global health and economic condition,” she remarked.
Indonesia assumes the G20 presidency starting from December 1, 2021 for one year. This is the first time the country led the group, which was founded in 1999. As the only country in the region to be a part of G20, Indonesia also represents the developing world, emerging economies and island countries. (TGH/UN) (DH/EP)
