The Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Investment/Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), and Ministry of Industry of the Republic of Indonesia will synergize by hosting G20’s Trade, Investment, and Industry Working Group (TIIWG), which will commence this September in Labuan Bajo, Nusa Tenggara Timur. This synergy will reflect Indonesia’s commitment to its Presidency of G20 in 2022, dedicated to enhancing global economic recovery through trade, investment, and industry.
The statement was uttered by Indonesia’s Minister of Trade, Muhammad Lutfi, Minister of Investment, Bahlil Lahadalia, and Minister of Industry, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, at the joint press conference of “G20 TIIWG Inauguration” in Jakarta, Tuesday (8/2).
This year’s G20 TIIWG Meeting will be chaired by the Ministry of Trade, aiming at championing the theme of “Aligning Trade, Investment, and Industry Agenda with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
“The Ministry of Trade is fully committed to supporting Indonesia’s G20 Presidency to realize G20 as the catalyst for global economic recovery by placing collaboration and inclusivity at the forefront and providing tangible outcomes for the national and global society. Thus, the Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Investment and Ministry of Industry pledge to host and lead the G20 TIIWG Meeting to discuss efforts and policies of respective member nations in designing their trade policies in their effort to recover and be relevant under the context of being contemporary, inclusive, people-centered, environmentally friendly, and sustainable,” explained Trade Minister Lutfi, who is also the Chief Executive of the G20 Side Events 2022.
This meeting will raise six priority issues, namely the WTO Reform; the Role of Multilateral Trading System to Strengthen the Achievement of Sustainable Development Goals; Trade, Investment, and Industry Response to the Pandemic and Global Health Architecture; Digital Trade and Sustainable Global Value Chains; Spurring Sustainable Investment for Global Economic Recovery; and Inclusive and Sustainable Industrialization via Industry 4.0. The discussion of these issues is expected to provide concrete results through Ministerial level agreements that are in line with the three main deliverables of the G20 Presidency of Indonesia, namely Global Health Architecture, Digital Economy Transformation, and Energy Transition.
Through these six issues, Indonesia will ensure the agenda and policies of trade, investment, and industry for the achievement of the SDGs. The SDGs are an integral foundation of the change agenda process for the policies of the three aforementioned sectors in achieving sustainable development that is prosperous, equitable, and just, in both developed and developing countries. The Ministry of Trade will ensure that this common interest can be accepted by all the G20 delegates and agreed upon by all G20 Ministers by consensus.
Through the G20 TIIWG, Minister of Trade Lutfi emphasized the narrative as a shared responsibility for economic recovery. The Ministry of Trade will discuss this interest with all member countries, stakeholders, and international organizations that this issue is an important and urgent issue.
“Labuan Bajo will send a message to the whole world that the G20 Trade Ministers will continue to strive so that trade, investment and industry can again become a driving force for sustainable economic growth and significantly improve the welfare of the global community. ‘We need to come back to trade. We need to come back to the SDGs’,” concluded the Minister of Trade Lutfi.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Investment/Head of BKPM Bahlil Lahadalia said that currently the focus of the Indonesian government is to take advantage of the momentum of the G20 Presidency, namely encouraging sustainable investment and inclusive investment.
“Indonesia must be at the forefront of how to play its role in promoting green energy. We have extraordinary natural resources,” said Investment Minister/Head of BKPM Bahlil.
Furthermore, the Minister of Investment/Head of BKPM Bahlil re-emphasized that every incoming investment be beneficial for entrepreneurs in the region, with the involvement of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Through this G20 momentum, the Ministry of Investment / BKPM will continue to encourage the realization of positive collaboration between investors and national entrepreneurs in the regions, including MSMEs.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Industry, Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, said that the G20 TIIWG will be historic because for the first time; industrial issues will be discussed specifically in the G20. This is an initiative of the Government of Indonesia to add industry nomenclature to the TIIWG.
Minister of Industry Agus added, to take advantage of this momentum, the Government of Indonesia will encourage collaboration of G20 countries in making breakthroughs and taking concrete actions in the trade, investment and industrial sectors to contribute more to global economic recovery.
“The TIIWG G20 meeting will open with the beauty of culture and the beauty of Indonesia’s traditional heritage in the city of Solo, which is still well-maintained and able to adapt to the development of time and technology. Solo will showcase Indonesia’s achievements in the development of the industrial sector and invite G20 countries to collaborate in utilizing technology to achieve inclusive and sustainable industries, to recover together and recover stronger,” said the Minister of Industry.
G20 Presidency of Indonesia 2022
The G20 is a multilateral cooperation forum consisting of 19 major countries and the European Union which has a middle to high income class, as well as developing countries to developed countries. G20 members consist of countries from various regions of the world, namely the United States, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, France, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Indonesia, Australia and the European Union.
The G20 presidency in 2022 is the first for Indonesia as a member of the G20 since the international forum was formed in 1999. At that time, Indonesia was in the recovery phase after the 1997-1998 economic crisis and was considered an emerging economy with enormous economic size and potential in the Asian region.
Indonesia’s G20 Presidency officially commenced on December 1, 2021, until the handover of the next presidency at the end of 2022. Previously, the appointment of Indonesia to hold the G20 Presidency was carried out at the 2020 Riyadh Summit. Meanwhile, the handover of the G20 Presidency from Italy to Indonesia was carried out on October 31, 2021 in Rome, Italy.
The global economic recovery from the crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is still ongoing. However, inequality and uncertainty also persist. The new variant of Covid-19 still threatens the economic and social life of the community.
With the main theme of the G20 Presidency “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”, Indonesia invites the whole world to focus on working together to support each other and recover together and grow stronger and more sustainable in responding to current and future crises.
