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Secretary General of the Communication and Information Technology Ministry, Mira Tayyiba. (kominfo.go.id) - 

The Communication and Informatics Ministry is working towards cross-sectoral cooperation to tackle three priority issues brought up at 2022 G20 Indonesia Presidency's Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG).

Secretary General of the Communication and Information Technology Ministry, Mira Tayyiba, listed the three priority issues at the DEWG G20 -- Post COVID-19 Recovery and Connectivity, Digital Skills and Literacy, and Cross Border Data Flow and Data Free Flow with Trust -- for which participation of several stakeholders, including national knowledge partners and national strategic stakeholders, is deemed necessary.

"On this occasion, we open up opportunities to collaborate with anyone. We collaborate with academics from the University of Indonesia, Gadjah Mada University, Padjadjaran University, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies as DEWG's national knowledge partners," the ministry's secretary general noted here on Wednesday.

Tayyiba remarked that the ministry had also involved national strategic stakeholders as well as ministries and institutions to discuss digital issues relevant to related sectors.

“For instance, speaking about employment with the Manpower Ministry and education with the Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry. In addition to ministries and institutions, we collaborate with industry players and associates involved in e-commerce, Big Data, cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, and digital literacy," she stated.

The national strategic stakeholders involve the Big Data and AI Association, the Indonesian Telematics Society, Siberkreasi, the Indonesian e-Commerce Association, the Indonesia Cyber Security Forum, and the Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association.

"Hence, through this DEWG, we expect to create real programs that are relevant for everyone. Not only for developed countries but also for developing countries. We can use the DEWG as (our collective method to express ourselves), and hence, we must work on it together," she stressed.

All-encompassing

Tayyiba, who also served as chair of DEWG G20, explained that the working group was part of the Sherpa Track G20, a melting pot of discussions on digital issues that cover all aspects of development, especially those pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There are many issues that will be discussed in the Sherpa Track, ranging from trade, industry, education, to health and many more. Discussions on these issues are facilitated through the G20 working group overseen by the ministry and its supporting institutions. It should be noted that almost all working groups drew attention to digital issues. Whether it is discussion about education, it is related to the digital scope, (so is) employment (related to) the digital scope," she admitted.

Tayyiba noted that the Sherpa Track had entrusted the ministry to function as a supervisor for DEWG for discussion on cross-sectoral digital issues.

“The duty of the Communication and Information Technology Ministry is to streamline all digital issues, so that they are coherent and cohesive. For instance, the issue of women's empowerment or child protection can be addressed by using an approach based on digitalization aspects, such as digital literacy and online safety," Tayyiba remarked.

The ministry expressed its commitment to make the most of Indonesia's G20 Presidency as an opportunity to reinforce the digital sector, both at the national and international level.

“Hence, these issues are not only national agendas that we are fighting for in a global context but we are also using this opportunity to consolidate the management of national digital issues. It is not surprising that digital issues are discussed in all sectors, as digital (related matters) are fluid and can be used by many people," she stated.

Supporting the DEWG trial

Spokesperson of the Communication and Information Technology Ministry, Dedy Permadi, stated that national knowledge partners were involved in discussing and developing the contents of the DEWG forum trial.

"We involve national knowledge partners or national substance partners comprising the UI, UGM, UNPAD, and CSIS Indonesia. The four national knowledge partners, along with the Communication and Information Technology Ministry, prepare the contents of the DEWG trial. We also compel other stakeholders to work together to support the success of G20," Permadi remarked.

The spokesperson explained that the four partners were chosen to better establish the substance of the working group during Indonesia's G20 Presidency.

“Our consideration was that we are striving to be as inclusive as possible. However, not everyone can be involved. Hence, we see that in substance, we can complement each other with a national knowledge partner,” he stated.

Permadi spoke at length about the origination of the G20 Presidency driven by global problems, starting from the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997-1998 that later rose to the Global Financial Crisis.

“This forum was formed because in the past, the G7 was not sufficient to respond to global problems that were actually not only the domain of rich countries but also middle-class countries. Thus, the G20 was formed. From the very start, it has addressed global issues, as we were facing the crisis at that time," he expounded.

"During the course of its journey, several global issues were eventually addressed owing to the presence of the G20 forum. For instance, in 2008, when the global economic crisis took place, and it became the worst global financial crisis in the last 80 years at that time. I also included the Iraq nuclear crisis in 2009 and the Syrian crisis in 2017," he stated.

“Then, in 2019, when a trade war broke out between the United States and China, the G20 became part of solving world issues, including when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. At the G20 forum, solutions were discussed. In the Finance Track, for instance, there is a rescheduling of debt payments, so that countries can survive in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Permadi elaborated.

He highlighted that digital issues were of utmost importance for Indonesia, because since 2019, Indonesia has been a country fighting for the inclusion of digital issues to be discussed at the G20 forum. Digital issues had been discussed at the Task Force level, and with Indonesia's support, it has since been successfully taken to the Working Group level.

"Indonesia has been fighting (for holding discussion on digital issues) since 2019, and in 2020, it was fought for again, and it was agreed to (have its priority upgraded). Hence, Indonesia is the first country to lead the Digital Economy Working Group at the G20 forum," he concluded//ANT