Indonesia gears up for G20 presidency in November

Diplomacy

Published: 16 Jun. 2022, 18:25 Updated: 16 Jun. 2022, 19:11

Indonesia gears up for G20 presidency in November

Gandi Sulistiyanto, ambassador of Indonesia to Korea, speaks at a media briefing on Indonesian presidency of the G20 meeting in November at his diplomatic residence in Seoul on June 3. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Indonesia and Korea can forge a win-win partnership in the digitalization of their financial sectors, said the top Indonesian envoy in Seoul.

“On digitalization of the financial sectors, our embassy started this year what’s called digital and start-up acceleration collaboration between the two countries,” said Gandi Sulistiyanto, ambassador of Indonesia to Korea, in a media briefing hosted at his diplomatic residence in Seoul on June 3. “Bilateral collaboration on digitalization is a priority for all of the Indonesian embassies, as well as in our G20 presidency.”

The Indonesian Embassy in Seoul created a division on Digital Economy & Start Up Acceleration this year, which facilitates business relations between Indonesian and Korean start-ups.

The aim, according to the embassy, is not only in facilitating bilateral access to each other's market but also in helping the start-ups share information and knowledge and create an ecosystem of collaboration.

Indonesia is hosting the G20 summit in November, an annual meeting of representatives from 19 countries across Europe, the Americas, Middle East, Asia and Africa, and a representative from the European Union, to address common challenges such as international financial stability and climate change.

Hosting the summit for the first time since its inauguration in 1999, Indonesia designated three priority issues for its presidency: strengthening global health architecture, sustainable energy transition and acceleration of digital transformation.

“Indonesia is holding the presidency of G20 in very challenging and complex situations worldwide including the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Adhyanti Sardanarini Wirajuda, counsellor at the Indonesian Embassy in Seoul. “To address this challenge, the Indonesian presidency carries the spirit of recovering and therefore the theme, ‘Recover together, recover stronger.’”

The country will be hosting over 180 meetings on health, energy and digitalization issues, not only in Bali, but also across the nation including in Jakarta, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Bandung and Manado.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]