The ongoing Ukraine-Russia war will have a global impact which will be felt on the economy, food, energy, etc. Even sustainability is also going to be impacted, says top Indonesian business and industry expert.

At the forthcoming G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia hopes to find support from India for strengthening the agenda of the emerging economies, and these include the legacy projects which were initiated to assist the MSMEs and the women entrepreneurs. And, Indonesia, according to the top representative of B20 wants these to continue when India takes over presidency

“The war doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. So, it is just dragging. Yes, we are facing high energy costs, high food costs and even more scarcity (of the two). Europe has energy scarcity and then of course, all this impacts inflation rate globally. Even the US is at 8% inflation; Germany’s has double-digit inflation, Turkey 60% inflation. What we are trying to do in this current G-20 and B-20 is to discuss this,” the Chairman of B20, M Arsjad Rasjid P Mangkuningrat, told Financial Express Online in an exclusive interaction in New Delhi.

“We need to take action. So in this G-20 session, unlike the previous individuals, we have legacies. These legacies are actual projects that can be carried from one country to another, continuously as a movement, as projects to be implemented. Focusing on emerging countries, but of course, it can be also implemented for developed countries. And, and that’s what makes the difference this year at G-20 and B-20,” he added. 

What is B20?

This Business 20 (B20) was formed in 2010 and it is the official G20 dialogue forum with the business community and it aims to deliver concrete actionable policy recommendations. These recommendations are based on the priorities by each rotating presidency of the grouping which would help spur economic growth and development.

Also Read: India expresses concern over the Ukraine conflict. Russian Prez confirms strikes

DPIIT & B20

Earlier in the week the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had hosted a conference on B20 Indonesia Global Dialogue. This was in partnership with industry chamber CII and the aim of the meeting was to align the perspective of Indian industry with the policy recommendations of B20 Indonesia.

Recommendations of B20 Indonesia

Chairman of B20 Indonesia, M Arsjad Rasjid P Mangkuningrat said that there are three main policy recommendations – enhancing collaboration between developed-developing countries in addressing global issues; empowering MSMEs and economically vulnerable groups including women and connectivity; and digitalization.

According to him, B20 Indonesia’s recommendations also stress on innovation, digital transformation,  and technology adoption to support international development and mitigation of future global crises – specifically creating robust guideline on health emergency preparedness to ensure global coordinated response for future crises enhanced by a technology-enabled “always on” global health infrastructure.

“India has initiated the Startup India, and this is aligned with the digital transformation that we are in and I think for Indonesia, startup is also something that is important. I feel there’s some similarity between India and Indonesia,” he added.

India & Indonesia

Next month Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to head to Bali to attend the G20 summit. Though it’s not been announced officially, the Prime Minister is expected to be there as India will take over the presidency of G20 and will be hosting the next summit in India.

Adding, “The agenda of G20 has been driven by the developed countries. And now, emerging countries like Indonesia, India, Brazil and South Africa Brazil, all should come together must come together to push their own agenda. And it also time for them to focus on getting more funding from developed countries.

Which countries form G20?

Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Republic of Korea,  South Africa, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and the European Union. Indonesia is currently holding the presidency of G20.

Importance of G20

In conversation with Financial Express Online, the top Indonesian business and industry expert said that the G20 forum is becoming more and more important especially when it is about economy.