Indonesia is gearing up to host the G20 Summit 2022 in Bali this
November By S Vijay Kumar I International Editor I 21st August 2022 I
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.” INDONESIA 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.
Ukraine’s top envoy in Jakarta said it was crucial for Russia’s invasion of his country to be part of discussions
among the G20 nations, and that the economic effects of the conflict had global implications, as Indonesia
convenes the grouping’s meetings this year. Beijing’s readout on a phone call between Chinese President Xi
Jinping and his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo meanwhile said the Chinese leader backed Jakarta’s plans
for the G20 summit and its focus on global economic recovery.
Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to attend a G20 summit in Indonesia, Russia's ambassador to
Indonesia said dismissing suggestions by some G20 members that Russia could be barred from the group. The
United States and its Western allies are assessing whether Russia should remain within the Group of Twenty
major economies following its invasion of Ukraine, sources involved in the disscussions have revealed. But any
bid to exclude Russia would likely be vetoed by others in the group, raising the prospect of some countries
instead skipping G20 meetings, the sources said.
Russia's ambassador to Indonesia, which currently holds the rotating G20 chair, said Putin intended to travel to
the Indonesian resort island of Bali for the G20 summit in November. "It will depend on many, many things,
including the COVID situation, that is getting better. So far, his intention is ... he wants to," ambassador Lyudmila
Vorobieva informed. Asked about suggestions Russia could be excluded from the G20, she said it is a forum to
discuss economic issues and not a crisis like Ukraine."Of course expulsion of Russia from this kind of forum will
not help these economic problems to be resolved. On the contrary, without Russia it would be difficult to do so.
The 2022 G20 is important for Indonesia since it is the first time the country is hosting the forum. In addition, it is
the first developing country to lead the grouping, which yields considerable influence on global economic and
social policies. Understanding the challenges and the need for collective action, Indonesia will focus on three
main pillars for its G20 2022 Presidency namely: Global Health Architecture, Digital Economy Transformation,
and Energy Transition as a comprehensive exit strategy to support global recovery. Besides establishing
equitable vaccination programs, Indonesia’s G20 Presidency is expected to successfully accelerate digitalization
and steer global policy coordination, particularly in terms of green financing. Through these pillars, Indonesia will
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. Simultanouesly it will also
maintain the aspiration to continue to improve the collective capacity in securing the shared prosperity among
nations, through various reform efforts in global taxation, stronger cooperation in fighting corruption, deepening of
infrastructure financing, and pushing for a more democratic, and representative international cooperation. G20 leaders’ declaration ‘deplores in strongest terms’ Russia’s war By S Vijay Kumar I International Editor I 16th November 2022 I
The G20 Leaders’ Declaration, adopted at the summit in Bali ahead of the presidency of the grouping being
handed over to India, conceded differences within over the war in Ukraine while condemning the Russian
aggression. World's 20 largest economies speaks out in favour of ending the war while acknowledging internal
disagreements.
The 16-page joint statement, signed by "the majority of G20 leaders" , noted the severe economic damage
caused by the war, and described Russia's veiled threats to use nuclear weapons on Ukrainian soil as
"unacceptable". Eclipsed by the war, the declaration articulated concerns over its impact on the global economy
and the nuclear overhang. Russian President Vladimir Putin had given the summit a miss and his foreign minister
Sergey Lavrov who was leading Russia’s delegation left a day early. The declaration calls Russia the aggressor
with member countries iterating their national positions adopted in the UN Security Council and General
Assembly. It “deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and
demands its complete and unconditional withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine”.
“Recognizing that the G20 is not the forum to resolve security issues, we acknowledge that security issues can
have significant consequences for the global economy.” The document was the first joint statement issued by the
G20 since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February. Russia is a member state of the
group. G20 leaders said international law must be upheld and that the threat of the use of nuclear weapons was
“inadmissible.”
The declaration says: “Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it is causing
immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy constraining growth,
increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, heightening energy and food insecurity, and elevating financial INDONESIA stability risks. There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions. Recognising that
the G20 is not the forum to resolve security issues, we acknowledge that security issues can have significant
consequences for the global economy.”
Apart from India, the G20 countries that have refused to condemn Russia at various international for a include
China, Brazil and host Indonesia. The text of the declaration indicates that they stuck to their respective positions
during the negotiations on the document. Alluding to Putin raising the spectre of nuclear war, the declaration
asserts that “the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
remarks to Putin at Samarkand on the margins of the SCO summit that “this is not the era of war’’ finds mention
in the declaration in the context of resolution of crises through diplomacy and dialogue, which has been India’s
stance in all conflict situations.
“The peaceful resolution of conflicts, efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital.
Today’s era must not be of war,” the declaration states. Western countries have quoted this remark of Modi
several times in recent weeks but Russia has accused the West of cherry-picking as the Prime Minister had just
a week before the SCO summit praised Putin’s vision and called for greater engagement of India in the Russian
far east.
The leaders dedicated some space to the state of the world economy, the usual topic of discussion that usually
forms the backbone of the annual G20 meetings. The war in Ukraine exacerbated the emerging global energy
and food crises, which in turn triggered record inflation in the United States and the eurozone. As a result, central
banks implemented drastic interest rate hikes that have significantly increased the risk of falling into recession.
As a result, leaders agreed to moderate these hikes.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo officially handed over the G20 presidency to India at the end of a summit in
Bali. President of host Indonesia, Joko Widodo, gave his “highest appreciation to all those who attended” the
summit, noting that their “flexibility” gave way for the declaration to be formally adopted. The G20, comprising 19
states and the EU, accounts for over 80 percent of the world’s gross domestic product, 75 percent of international
trade and 60 percent of its population. The group includes countries ranging from Brazil to Saudi Arabia. www.bbnewsin.com