Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), during the second session of the G20 Summit, urged G20 countries to make additional contributions to the Pandemic Fund to support the financing mechanism for pandemic prevention and control, according to ANTARA News Agency. "The G20 has succeeded in establishing the Pandemic Fund. This must be followed by additional funding contributions to function optimally, including Indonesia's contribution, which has committed $50 million," he said at the second session of the G20 Summit, which took place at the Apurva Kempinski, on Tuesday. The Pandemic Fund, which had been proposed since the Italian G20 presidency, was successfully formed and launched during Indonesia's G20 presidency this year, mainly as a result of a series of meetings between the ministers of health and the ministers of finance over the past year. During the second working session of the G20 Summit, the leaders of member countries and several leaders of international organizations, such as the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and World Bank president David Malpass discussed a host of issues related to the global health architecture. At a closed discussion, state leaders were scheduled to discuss, among other things, the Pandemic Fund, which was officially launched by President Widodo in Nusa Dua, Bali, on Nov, 13, 2022. Summit must produce useful outcomes President Widodo emphasized on Tuesday that dialogues of countries, representing 80 percent of the global GDP, at the Bali G20 Leaders' Summit should be successful in producing concretely useful outcomes for the world. Speaking at the two-day summit's first session here, Widodo said the international community currently pays close attention to the G20 Summit to know whether it will end in success or failure. Widodo remarked that the summit, being held in the resort island of Bali and attended by majority of the heads of government from the Group of 20, should be a success rather than a failure. In his opening remarks at the first session during which the G20 leaders would discuss issues related to the global economy and food and energy security, Widodo said, as the holder of G20 Presidency, Indonesia has made utmost efforts to bridge profound differences. Success, however, is merely achievable if all G20 leaders and delegates, without exception, are strongly committed to setting aside differences and working hard to produce concretely useful results for the world, he affirmed. In his remarks, Widodo also highlighted the importance of paying serious attention to the issue of fertilizer shortages while emphasizing that the problem should not be undermined. Widodo affirmed that if a concrete solution was not immediately taken to ensure sufficient availability of fertilizer stocks and affordability, 2023 would become a looming year. The condition could deteriorate and turn into a crisis of global food supplies owing to fertilizer shortages and high prices that would significantly affect food prices in different parts of the world, he stated. The current condition has become a matter of grave concern for 48 developing countries facing the highest level of vulnerability, President Widodo added. Under its presidency themed "Recover Together, Recover Stronger," Indonesia focuses on three priority sectors — "strengthening of global health architecture", "digital transformation", and "energy transition" — to achieve solutions for recovery. Catalyst for inclusive economic recovery President Widodo expressed optimism that the G20 would continue to become a catalyst for inclusive economic recovery amid the current tough global conditions. "Indonesia hopes the G20 can continue to become a catalyst for inclusive economic recovery," the president noted as he opened the G20 Summit. G20 is an international forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union that work together to handle major issues. Indonesia is holding the presidency of the grouping this year. President Jokowi noted that in the midst of the difficult situation, the G20 must continue to work to present concrete results for global recovery through various efforts. The efforts include preparing funds to face future pandemics through the pandemic fund and supporting the fiscal spaces of low-income countries through resilience and sustainability trust. The G20 is also encouraging acceleration in the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs). Apart from that, the G20 is also striving to produce hundreds of forms of concrete cooperation and support more advanced and sustainable global economic recovery through the Bali Compact on energy transition. "We do not only talk but take concrete actions," the president emphasized. President Jokowi encouraged the G20 to demonstrate to the world that the international forum, whose members are the world's major economies, can act wisely and assume responsibility as well as demonstrate leadership. "Let us work and let us cooperate for the world. Recover together, recover stronger," the president stated. Indonesia's G20 Presidency in 2022 is raising the three main issues of global health architecture, digital transformation, and sustainable energy transition. — SPA
