G20 Sherpa participants realize that internet technology or the digital space offered solutions to expedite post-pandemic recovery, Communication and Informatics Minister Special Staff Dedy Permadi told reporters after the meeting in Labuan Bajo on Monday.
The G20 Sherpa Meeting is a forum attended by G20 member countries to discuss issues related to energy, development, tourism, digital economy, education, labor, agriculture, trade, investment, industry, health, anti-corruption, environment, and climate change.
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.
Post-COVID-19 pandemic economic recovery and connectivity became an important issue that the G20 Sherpa participants discussed, not just for Indonesia but also for countries in the world that experience economic contraction.
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Amid this economic contraction, utilization of the digital space becomes increasingly important and should be encouraged together to expedite post-pandemic recovery.
Indonesia has proven that digital connectivity shows positive signs amid the stagnation of other sectors, Permady remarked.
In 2020, the only sector that clocked double-digit growth throughout three quarters in a row is the communication and informatics sector, with growth close to that of the digital sector, at 10.58 percent year-on-year.
"This growth figure is extraordinary for development of the sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic," he explained.
It means that despite contraction in various sectors, the digital sector is expected to grow and become a solution, especially for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), amid the pandemic.
The Indonesian government recorded that before the pandemic, some eight million MSMEs had already utilized digital space for trade and promotion. Currently, this figure reached 17.5 million MSMEs.
Several MSMEs that survived during the pandemic were able to utilize the digital space, he remarked.
However, this is not yet sufficient since 17.5 million MSMEs constituted 27 percent of the total 64 million MSMEs in Indonesia, he pointed out.
The second G20 Sherpa meeting in Labuan Bajo is being held on July 10-13, 2022, and is directly attended by 19 G20 member country delegations, nine invited countries, and 10 international organizations.
One G20 member country, the United States, attended the meeting virtually.
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Translator: Aloysius L, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Suharto
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