Jakarta-STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT. Indonesia has encouraged G20 countries to promote sustainable growth through digitisation and the adoption of digital technology that could enhance post-pandemic recovery in several sectors, Indonesia’s G20 Presidency spokesperson Maudy Ayunda said on Thursday. She said G20 countries are also expected to adopt digital technology as the primary medium for the recovery as Indonesia has exemplified.
Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, as quoted by Reuters on Friday, said representatives from Japan would attend the G20 finance minister meeting. “We will not comment on the participation of member countries in the forum. That is not our authority,” he said. Suzuki said Japan would take appropriate steps in close cooperation with G7 allies and host country, Indonesia.
G20 host Indonesia said it has finished the “first round” of consultation with members over Russia’s attendance at the bloc’s meetings and summit amid mounting calls from Western countries and their allies for a boycott if Moscow is not excluded from the economic f
The government also said that it will begin another round of talks with all stakeholders and publicly announce the decision after Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi submits the report to President Jokowi. Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah said Jakarta is “listening to members’ views and it has got enough time” to take a call on Russia’s participation in the November summit in Bali.
Finance chiefs of the G20 major economies are meeting in the U.S. capital next week to address global economic risks in the forum’s first ministerial-level meeting after Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Wempi Saputra, an advisor on macroeconomics and international finance for the finance minister said on Thursday that the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting would focus on the economic risks of the Russo-Ukrainian War, soaring worldwide inflation and a global exit strategy that addressed the possible long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Indonesia, which holds the rotating Group of 20 presidency, said Russian delegates have been invited to join a meeting of global finance chiefs in Washington next week, holding firm despite growing pressure to exclude the country over its war in Ukraine.
Finance Ministry expert staff Wempi Saputra said Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and central bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina have the right to attend the meeting virtually or physically, since Indonesia is in no position to disinvite any member without consensus. Saputra said Indonesia is also in discussions over whether to invite representatives from Ukraine who will address G-20 countries on the impact of the war on the world’s economic outlook.
Foreign Affairs Ministry official Achmad Rizal Purnama said the Indonesian government will still conduct consultations about the G20 presidency to European countries, especially regarding their response and position to the situation in Ukraine. He said Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi will carry out her second round of visits to four European countries: the U.K., France, the Netherlands, and Turkey on Apr. 19 to 22, 2022.
Political and international relations expert Hikmahanto Juwana on Sunday said Indonesia should invite all G20 member countries to attend the G20 Summit. He said countries that did not want Russia to attend had to reach an arrangement rather than putting the burden on Indonesia. Hikmahanto expressed hope that Indonesia would continue to prepare for its G20 presidency in accordance with protocol, and not allowing the crisis between Russia and Ukraine to undermine Indonesia’s sovereignty.
