Indonesia Launches G20 Forum on Recovery and Innovation

            Indonesia will raise issues related to economic recovery, innovation, and inclusivity in the Business 20 (B20) forum, which is part of the Group of 20 (G20) agenda, as the country seeks to help facilitate the global exit from the coronavirus pandemic. Shinta Kamdani, who chairs the B20 Indonesia 2022 forum, said that, with those three themes, the discussions would focus on a collaborative recovery and economic growth, on boosting global innovation, and on working toward an inclusive and sustainable future.

            Following the global economic contraction and with millions of people have fallen into poverty due to the pandemic, Indonesia had to facilitate cross-border cooperation not just to revive the economy, but also to improve the global healthcare system, Shinta said. “The world needs to keep spurring collaboration, innovation, and inclusion as it transitions out of the pandemic,” Shinta said during the B20 Indonesia inception meeting on Thursday. “This represents the main foundation for B20 Indonesia this year.”

            Shinta said the B20 Indonesia forum was expected to host about 2.000 members, 37% of whom would be female leaders. Indonesia has formed several task forces to make policy recommendations on issues ranging from energy, sustainability, and climate change to finance, trade, investment, and infrastructure, as well as to digitalization, the future of work and education, integrity and compliance, and to women in business.

Jan 29, 2022, The Jakarta Post

(https://www.thejakartapost.com/business/2022/01/28/indonesia-launches-g20-forum-on-recovery-innovation.html)

G20 Economic Benefits Twice as Big as IMF Annual Meetings

            The Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs predicts that the economic benefits of the G20 2022 Presidency for Indonesia will be 1.5 to 2 times greater than the IMF World Bank Group Annual Meetings in 2018. Head of the Bureau of Communications, Information Services, and Sessions, Haryo Limanseto, said that a physical meeting in the series of G20 Presidents will boost domestic consumption. In addition, many MSMEs will be involved during the G20 Presidency.

“If the meeting is held physically, there will be an increase in domestic consumption of up to Rp. 1.7 trillion,” said Haryo on the official website of kemenkeu.go.id. In addition, physical meetings will also increase the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) up to Rp7.4 trillion. Then, Haryo predicts that there will be a workforce absorbtion of 33.000 in various sectors. Another benefit of the G20 Presidency for Indonesia is international branding.

The G20 forum will also encourage investment from G20 members and international organizations in Indonesia. Then, the international event will also broaden the public’s knowledge, especially the younger generation. The G20 presidency will discuss various matters, such as the financial pathway and sherpa pathway.

The sherpa pathway is part of the engagement group represented by civil society organizations, so that the discussion results from the sherpa pathway are not limited to top-down interests, but also open up opportunities for various stakeholders. The sherpa pathway will also focus on empowering MSMEs, such as encouraging the digitization of MSMEs, training in the context of upskilling MSMEs, and encouraging various pro MSME policies. “Thus, the output of this forum could have an impact on the community,” said Haryo.

January 14, 2022, CNN Indonesia

(https://www.cnnindonesia.com/ekonomi/20220114093505-532-746484/manfaat-ekonomi-g20-dua-kali-lebih-besar-dari-imf-annual-meetings)