Indonesia pushes full steam ahead on G20 Summit preparations by Fardah

 Jakarta, Sept 29, 2022 (ANTARA) - Indonesia will host the G20 Summit for the first time on the Bali Islands, one of the world’s most famous tourist resorts, on November 15 and 16, 2022, as part of its presidency of the grouping. 

The theme of Indonesia’s G20 Presidency, which it assumed on December 2021, is “Recover Together, Recover Stronger.”

The Group 20 (G20) is a strategic multilateral platform connecting the world’s major developed and emerging economies: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. Spain is a permanent guest at the G20.

The members of the grouping account for more than 80 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP), 75 percent of global trade, and 60 percent of the population of the planet.

The Indonesian government has been intensively preparing for the summit with the assumption that all G20 leaders such as Vladimir Putin of Russia, Joe Biden of the US, Anthony Albanese of Australia, and King Salman of Saudi Arabia will join the Bali Summit in person.  

The preparations have covered security matters, logistics, transportation, accommodation, infrastructure development, and other facilities, including the media center and emergency medical response for delegates, among others. 

So far, the preparations have been on the right track, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi.

"In the logistics and the substantial aspects, we are ready. I also believe that our preparation progress is on the right track," she told the press after reporting on the progress of preparations to President Joko Widodo at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on September 9, 2022.

INDONESIA STRIVES TO EXPAND COVERAGE OF DIGITALIZATION OF MSMES by Fardah

 

Jakarta, 16/9/2022 (ANTARA) - Indonesia has over 65 million micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) capable of producing competitive products, though several of them had yet to integrate into the digital ecosystem to promote their products domestically and overseas.

They account for 99.9 percent of the business population and 61.07 percent of the national gross domestic product (GDP), or Rp8,573.9 trillion .

Eager to reduce imports, the Indonesian government has been striving to expand the coverage of digitalization of MSMEs, which is one of the strongest pillars of the Indonesian economy.

The government is targeting 30 million MSMEs to enter the digital market by 2024, including 19.5 million MSMEs in 2022, according to Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs Teten Masduki.

At least 19 million MSMEs have so far succeeded in going digital and expanding their market, while 11 million other MSMEs are lining up to adopt digitalization.

Aspiring to become the largest digital economy, with potential reaching Rp4,500 trillion in Southeast Asia by 2030, the government has accelerated economic digitalization transformation by involving various relevant stakeholders.

The digitalization effort also involves the digitization of MSMEs under various national initiatives, such as the Proudly Made in Indonesia National Movement and the Proud Indonesian Traveling National Movement.

Minister Masduki has urged internet marketers to MSMEs to enter the digital ecosystem, as many of the MSMEs are not familiar with digital technology.

To reduce imports and promote domestic products, internet marketers could seek what the people need, such as creating technology application to facilitate marketing, Masduki stated during the Indonesia Digital MeetUp 2022 recently.

"I call for help for our MSMEs to enter the online market because 50 percent of the products sold in e-commerce are still imported products," he noted.