VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said the economies of a number of countries in the Asia-Pacific are still not fully recovered.

Although, said the Head of State, currently many countries are trying hard to get out of the big challenges, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, and war.

"The economies of a number of Asia-Pacific countries have not yet recovered, still below pre-pandemic levels, 70 percent of the total new unemployment occurred in our region and 85 million people have returned to the abyss of extreme poverty," said the President, in his remarks at the opening of the commission's third session. 78 United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), from the State Palace, Monday (23/5/2022).

The President added, based on the predictions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or the International Monetary Fund, economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region fell 0.5 percent, to 4.9 percent. The reason is that inflation is also estimated to reach 8.7 percent, or up 2.8 percent from the original estimate.

"The achievement of the SDGs (the Sustainable Development Goals) is getting delayed. It is estimated that our region will only be able to achieve the SDGs in 2065, and according to the Global Climate Risk Index, six of the 10 countries most affected by climate change in the long term are in Asia Pacific," he said.

To speed up economic recovery, Jokowi said that the pandemic response must continue, and the Covid-19 vaccination gap in the region must be closed.

"This region has the country with the highest vaccination achievement and also the lowest in the world. The success of vaccination determines the reactivation of the national economy and connectivity with the world economy. UNESCAP can support the establishment of a network of regional vaccine production and distribution facilities, overcome logistical challenges, and shorten supply chains," he stressed.

In addition, the President also asked UNESCAP to strengthen funding for the SDGs.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimates the need for USD 1.5 trillion annually to ensure the SDGs are achieved in the Asia-Pacific by 2030. However, the availability of global funding is only USD 1.4 trillion.

"This huge gap must be closed. Private sector investment must be encouraged. Although Asia-Pacific is the largest region for inbound and outbound foreign investment, the value of investment to the region itself is still small. UNESCAP needs to encourage strengthening of intraregional investment, support ease of doing business, promotion and business matching among member countries," he said.

The President also hopes that UNESCAP will collaborate with ADB and other funding institutions. He also gave an example in Indonesia itself, to promote various innovative funding, namely through SDG Indonesia one, green sukuk, and the carbon economy.

"New sources of growth must be strengthened. Digitization, empowering MSMEs, and green growth are our common future. Optimizing trade digitization will cut trade costs in the region by at least 13 percent. MSME access to financial inclusion and regional supply chains needs to be encouraged. Support for Green growth efforts are urgently needed, including the energy transition, and tax capacity needs to be strengthened, including carbon taxes," he said. (RRI)