G20 is a forum for the cooperation of 20 major economies in the world, representing more than 80 per cent of the world GDP, 75 per cent of international trade and 60 per cent of the world population. Established in 1999, the G20 was born to promote measures to help the world get out of the global economic crisis in the 1997-1998 period and grow strongly and sustainably. Since 2008, leaders began attending the G20 Summit to discuss development issues.
Surrounded challenge
According to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Indonesia took on the most difficult G20 presidency in history. The G20 Summit in 2022 takes place in the context that the world is facing many intertwined, complex and unpredictable crises at the same time. The global economy weakened, with growth forecasts continuously revised. In addition to the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world faces increasing risks from climate change, food and energy price crises, supply chain disruptions and escalation of geopolitical tensions.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that global inflation in 2022 may reach 8.8%, up from 4.7% in 2021, which is mainly due to the combined impact of interrelated factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, global supply chain disruptions, escalating conflict in Ukraine, energy crisis and record-high fuel prices.
To control inflation, which is at the highest level in decades, central banks around the world simultaneously raised interest rates, but this step is warned to entail the risk of a global recession.
Due to disagreements over the conflict in Ukraine, the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in July, could not issue a joint statement regarding inflation, food shortages and global supply, as well as sluggish economic growth.
G20 is a forum for the cooperation of 20 major economies in the world, representing more than 80 per cent of the world GDP, 75 per cent of international trade and 60 per cent of the world population. Established in 1999, the G20 was born to promote measures to help the world get out of the global economic crisis in the 1997-1998 period and grow strongly and sustainably.
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, noted that the G20 Summit took place in the context of the world facing a serious climate disaster. According to the UN leader, G20 countries are responsible for 80 per cent of global emissions. The Secretary-General of the United Nations urged the G20 to extend and expand the scope of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), so that many developing countries, which are already unable to pay their debts, have more resources and time to balance development priorities, keeping up with global trends, such as emission reduction and energy transition.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, on the eve of the G20 Summit, German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the leaders of the G20 economies would have great difficulty reaching a consensus on global issues, including the conflict in Ukraine. Sharing this view, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that the G20 may not achieve a breakthrough on any of the key issues, but the Singaporean leader expressed his hope that the parties would reach a consensus on a common direction for most issues. Difficult issues at the Summit in Bali were climate change, global security and economy, and the conflict in Ukraine.
Catalyst for recovery
Choosing the theme of the G20 Summit in 2022 as "Together recovery, stronger recovery”, host Indonesia wishes to promote three priority areas, which are considered key to a strong recovery and sustainability, including strengthening global health structures, digital transformation, and energy transition. The G20 President believes that the recovery benefits not only G20 members but also developing countries, small island states and vulnerable groups.
Therefore, Indonesia turned the attention of discussions at the Conference, to developing countries in Asia, Africa and South America, as well as small island nations in the Pacific and the Caribbean.
The COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet, so according to health experts, the full implementation of the global vaccination strategy remains a top priority, while it is urgent to close the funding gap and strengthen vaccine distribution and management capacity in developing countries.
Global health threats require strong multilateral and multi-sectoral responses. The difficulties that the world has to go through during the pandemic show that the global health structure needs to be strengthened and better prepared, to respond to health crises that may come in the future.
Digital transformation is one of the key solutions to transform economies during the pandemic and become a new engine of economic growth. However, many experts estimate that the process of digitisation is happening faster than the ability of governments to adapt, especially in many developing countries. Digital inequality will drive economic and social inequality on a larger scale. For this reason, the G20 is focused on enhancing digital literacy and skills, to ensure that digital transformation takes place in a comprehensive, multi-dimensional way, including technology aspects, economic, educational and social.
Energy transition was one of the main topics discussed at this year's G20 Summit. As the Chairman of the G20, Indonesia accelerates the implementation of the energy transition plan, in which the decommissioning of coal power plants is a top priority.
Indonesia is also actively promoting parties to establish clean energy partnerships, helping developing countries attract billions of dollars in international funding, to reduce dependence on fossil fuel sources while promoting promote green transition and balance.
The G20 Summit in Bali also recorded positive signals from the efforts of the world's leading economies in responding to global challenges.
The establishment of the Global Blended Finance Alliance (GBF), the Pandemic Fund, the Global Collaborative Agency to Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A), and a series of new commitments on climate change response within the framework of this meeting, is considered as important steps in the effort to find a common voice among G20 members.
The high-level meeting on the sidelines of the Conference between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden is of special interest. There are still problems in the relationship between the two countries, but the leaders of the world's two largest economies agreed to maintain dialogue and cooperation on urgent global issues.
Speaking at the opening of the G20 Summit, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, expressed his belief that the only solution to deal with global challenges is to work together. President Widodo stressed that the world expects the G20 to be a catalyst for global recovery, and the success of the Bali Summit is a shared responsibility of all G20 members.
