G20 Bali Summit: Collective Movement, Resolving Disputes

The G20 Bali Summit held on November 15 and 16, 2022, is among the most long-anticipated multilateral forums involving 19 countries - Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. Representing both developing and developed nations, the G20 members represent more than 80 percent of the world's GDP, 75 percent of international trade, and 60 percent of the world population. Consequently, the G20 is strategically securing future global economic growth and prosperity. Started in 1999 as a meeting for the finance minister and central bank governors, the G20 has evolved into a yearly summit involving the Head of State and Government. This year's theme, “Recover Together, Recover Stronger,” recognizes the importance of collective action and inclusive collaboration to recuperate from the never-ending sequence of global health and political disputes affecting every aspect of society. Understanding said challenges and the urgency for joint movement, Indonesia focused on three main pillars for its G20 2022 Presidency: Global Health Architecture, Sustainable Energy Transition, and Digital Transformation. Through these pillars, Indonesia strives to continue to take the lead on ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, promoting sustainable and inclusive economic development through MSMEs participation and digital economy.

In terms of the current healthcare crisis, G20 countries believe that building a resilient global health system, aligning global health protocols, and creating manufacturing centers for genomes and vaccines are ideal measures. Setting these objectives is expected to withhold future setbacks and allow middle to lower-economy countries to tackle the pandemic better. In addition, the Financial Intermediary Fund, also known as the Pandemic Fund, was established throughout the summit as an emergency funding system. Based on the Indonesian government’s data, US$1.4 billion has been collected for the fund, including donors outside the G20 countries. The succeeding topic is digital transformation; considerations were set to optimize the economy and digital governance. During the previous meeting in September, it had been settled that improving post-pandemic digital connectivity, digital skills, literacy, and security of cross-border data flow was urgent. The decision had been made by assessing how the economy and people’s interests had shifted alongside the rise of artificial intelligence. A change in the financial industry was also implemented as the concept of “sustainable finance” surged. The fulfillment of the sustainable energy transition is done by reducing the use of non-renewable energy, followed by encouraging renewable energy consumption, such as solar, wind, and hydro. Behind this agenda is the disrupted balance between them; many factors cause combustion, a few being fossil fuels, pollution, and forest degradation. Hence, the collective endeavor to alleviate the global economy and restore peace in society is subject to the following significant agendas.

The business community (B20) has also taken a leap further in discussing numerous cooperation in hopes of creating a new light in some sectors. Similar to the G20 summit, B20 also focused on task force energy, sustainability, and climate. Subsequently, one major cooperation is the US$2 billion electric vehicles (EV) fund settled by Indonesia. This deal was arranged with China's battery maker CATL and CMB International. It is also known that the large sum came from the Indonesia Investment Authority, the country's sovereign wealth fund. Another consortium is held between Wijaya Karya (WIKA), Mitsubishi Corporation, and SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction, who will work alongside Pertamina Geothermal Energy in building the Lumut Balai Unit 2 geothermal power plant project. Additionally, the project was designed to prevent global warming from worsening. Elsewhere, PT Pertamina New and Renewable Energy (NRE) and Electrum, a joint venture between TBS Energi Utama ($TOBA) and GoTo Gojek Tokopedia ($GOTO), signed a deal to collaborate on developing Electric Vehicles (EV) in essence to support the zero-emission program. PT Adaro Minerals Indonesia ($ADMR) signed a note with Hyundai motor company regarding aluminum supply guarantees in the commodity industry. This signing will accommodate Hyundai's aluminum supply of around 50-100 thousand tons. Regarding the zero-emission industry, Bakrie & Brothers and Envision Group signed a Head of Agreement (HoA) involving working together in making the first green industrial park which would take place in Central Sulawesi. Outside of that, PT Telkom Indonesia (Persero) Tbk ($TLKM) signed a multi-year collaboration with Google Cloud with visions to prosper the people. At today’s critical moment for the global economy, the G20 must undertake precise and necessary actions to advance an agenda for a strong, inclusive, and resilient global recovery and sustainable development that delivers jobs and growth.

Sources:

Kompas

Stockbit

The Jakarta Post

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