VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati delivered a statement in Rome, Italy, Saturday (October 30, 2021). ANTARA/HO-Press Bureau of the Presidential Secretariat/Muchlis Jr - 

Indonesian Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the global economic recovery from the tremendous impacts of COVID-19 pandemic is underway though it does not occur in all parts of the world partly due to unequal access to vaccines.

"There are countries (in Africa) whose vaccination rates of their total populations remain below three percent. On average, the vaccination rates of poor countries are only six percent of the populations while those of developed countries have reached above 70 percent or even close to 100 percent," she said.

As disclosed in her statement at the Splendide Royal Hotel, Rome, Italy, on Saturday (30/10), after accompanying President Joko Widodo at the G20 Summit in La Nuvola, she said, in addition to the unequal access to vaccines, the world's economic recovery is also threatened by inflation driven by soaring energy prices, and supply-chain disruption.

According to Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani, this is happening in all countries whose economic recoveries are very fast despite experiencing complications in the form of rising energy prices and supply-chain disruptions.

Furthermore, the Minister of Finance explained that the increase in energy occurred very quickly because investment in the energy sector, especially non-renewable energy, had fallen sharply in the face of soaring energy demand due to the economic recovery. The situation led to high inflation in various countries.

"This is a threat to global economic recovery. Indonesia also needs to remain vigilant," Sri Mulyani said.

Owing to the fact that COVID-19 is a real threat to the world's economy, she noted that finance ministers and health ministers of G20 countries agreed to build a mechanism called pandemic preparedness.

"Today, the world is not ready to face a pandemic. In fact (the pandemic) has cost up to 12 trillion US dollars, five million people died, and more than 250 million people were infected by this pandemic. So, the world must have better preparations," Sri Mulyani said .

At the G20 Summit, there would be a joint finance health task force or working unit between the finance ministers and the health ministers under the G20 whose purpose was to prepare the prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR) of the pandemic.

The task force will be led by the Ministers of Finance of Indonesia and Italy.

"Indonesia will be the host or the presidency starting in December and Italy is now the presidency. Indonesia's role is important because Indonesia is a big country and we also have a commitment to our vaccinations," Sri Mulyani stated//ANT

Ambassador of Canada to Indonesia, H.E. Cameron MacKay during an online discussion (29/10) on sharing lessons learned between countries.  (Antara/ Documentation of Embassy of Canada) - 

Canadian Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor Leste Cameron MacKay said Canada is committed to working with Indonesia to improve the quality and competitiveness of micro, small and medium enterprises in the country. 

He made the statement when speaking at an online discussion on sharing lessons learned among countries that Indonesia's Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs held in collaboration with the NSLIC/NSELRED Project on October 29 (29/10).

The issues discussed included learning about good practices, challenges, and opportunities in creating better competitiveness and ecosystem of MSMEs.

Ambassador MacKay highlighted the importance of MSMEs for job creation in Indonesia, saying that 64 million micro, small and medium enterprises provide jobs to 97 percent of the national workforce.

"We are all aware of the importance of the micro and small enterprises in Indonesia," the ambassador was quoted as saying in a statement that ANTARA received here Sunday.

Through the NSLIC project, Canada has been supporting micro and small businesses across Indonesia with total beneficiaries of approximately 5,278 business units, ranging from farmer groups, cooperatives, to micro and small enterprises that provide jobs to 71,376 individuals.

MSMEs play an important role to the Indonesian economy. As many as 97 percent of the workforce in Indonesia work in the MSME sector and this sector contributes 61 percent to GDP.

However, one of the most affected sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic is MSME.

Based on the study report of  the University of Indonesia's Faculty of Economics and Business Institute for Economic and Social Research (LPEM FEB UI) and UNDP in September 2020, the highest increase in unemployment occurred in the MSME sector. Nine out of 10 MSMEs in Indonesia experienced a decline in demand for their products during the pandemic.

In addition, Secretary of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs Susiwijono Moegiarso said the Job Creation Law mandated the convenience, protection, and empowerment of MSMEs through an integrated management of MSMEs, MSME participation in public infrastructure, ease of business licensing, legal assistance and assistance services, convenience facilitation of financing and fiscal incentives, as well as training and assistance in the use of bookkeeping systems/applications.

All these facilities could hopefully encourage the growth of MSMEs in Indonesia which would affect job creation, he said.

“In this webinar, participants are expected to be able to broaden their knowledge by getting lessons from international best practices on increasing economic competitiveness taken from policies that have been implemented so far by several member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),” Susiwijono said.

A report of Indonesia’s Banking Development Institute (LPPI) and Bank Indonesia revealed that the barriers to MSMEs are in the form of internal barriers (financial access, human resources, legality, and accountability) and external barriers (unsupportive business climate, lack of infrastructure support and access to raw materials as well as access to international markets).

Deputy for Population and Manpower of Bappenas Pungky Sumadi, Head of the Regional Development Planning Agency of Central Java Province Prasetyo Aribowo, Head of the Regional Development Planning Agency of East Belitung District Bayu Priyambodo, Policy Analyst of OECD Marco Marchese, Expert on SMEs Policy and Best Practices Greg Elms, and Founder of Archipelago (the Canada-based digital platform for Indonesia SMEs products) Liza Wajong joined the webinar as speakers in the presentation and discussion sessions.

Lessons learned from developed countries highlighted the importance of utilizing digital technology, coordination between stakeholders, and coordination between levels of government, both central and regional//ANT

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (right) held bilateral talks with Australian Prime Minister  Scott Morrison (left) in Rome on Saturday (October 30, 2021). (ANTARA/HO-Biro Pers Sekretariat Presiden) - 

Indonesian President Joko Widodo began the agenda of his working visit to Italy by holding bilateral talks with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Rome on Saturday.

At the meeting, which took place at the Splendide Royal Hotel, the two leaders discussed several issues ranging from COVID-19 vaccinations, economic recovery, to climate change.

“For bilateral ties, I am glad to see the continued progress. First, let me convey our appreciation for Australia’s assistance of 1.2 million vaccine doses, which arrived (in Indonesia) last week, and we warmly welcome the planned shipment of 10.5 million vaccine doses from Australia,” President Widodo said in a written statement received in Jakarta on Saturday.

The current condition of COVID-19 in Indonesia is very good, with the positivity rate below one percent and more than 185 million vaccines administered, he added.

“Of equal importance, we still uphold the health protocols,” he said.

The positive trend in the handling of COVID-19 has offered a chance to the two neighboring states to think of economic recovery, including in the tourism sector, he noted.

To that end, he proposed the creation of an Indonesia-Australia vaccinated travel lane (VTL) and cooperation for mutual recognition of vaccination certificates.

"I know that the foreign ministers of the two countries have begun communicating the possibility of the cooperation. May VTL and mutual recognition of vaccination certificates materialize soon. I believe this will accelerate economic recovery,” he said//ANT

President Joko Widodo (standing-right) during the economic and global health session of the G20 Summit in La Nuvola, Rome, Italy, on Saturday (October 30, 2021). (ANTARA/HO-Presidential Secretariat Press Bureau) - 

President Joko Widodo called for the acceleration of a global economic recovery that is strong, inclusive, and sustainable at the economic and global health session of the G20 Summit in La Nuvola, Rome, Italy, on Saturday.

According to a statement released by the Presidential Secretariat's Press Bureau, the President said that the G20 needs to serve as a catalyst for the normalization of economic policy since in the last two years, the world has carried out extraordinary policies in the fiscal, monetary, and finance sectors.

The G20 needs to also be a catalyst for debt liquidity and restructuring for poorer countries, as well as global connectivity for sectors that rely on human and goods mobility, including tourism and manufacturing, Widodo added.

He also touched upon cooperation in innovation, digital technology, and green technology, and investment for inclusive and sustainable development, as well as global cooperation for the advancement of developing countries at the meeting.

He further called for the strengthening of global health architecture.

To materialize this vision, he made three suggestions. First, countries must formulate a mechanism for pooling global health resources, including funding, vaccines, medicines, medical equipment, and medical workers, that can readily be deployed to countries in need, he said.

Secondly, the President called upon all leaders at the summit to establish a standard for health protocols with regard to activities between countries, including travel health protocols.

Last, he said he believed that the G20 needs to be a part of the solution for reducing gaps and scarcity in the availability of vaccines, medicines, and essential medical equipment//ANT