...our common goals are much more important than our individual interests.Belitung, Bangka Belitung (ANTARA) - National Development Planning Minister Suharso Monoarfa emphasized the importance of the recovery and resilience of developing countries amid the current global crisis at the opening of the G20 Development Ministerial Meeting (DMM) here on Thursday.
"It is a forum that we expect to be able to collaborate the world's largest economies to eradicate the development gap and assist the developing countries together," he remarked.
The 2022 G20 DMM is being held in the midst of a difficult global situation as the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over and various countries are still experiencing an uneven economic recovery, he said.
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There are also various conflicts and geopolitical issues that are hindering economic recovery.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that in 2022, inflation in developed countries will increase to almost 6 percent, meanwhile the inflation rate in developing countries will reach 9 percent.
The minister said that this will affect the economic recovery in developing countries since it may result in a surge in food and energy prices. High inflation will also discourage countries from allocating more investment to achieve sustainable development goals.
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"Our journey has not been easy, but our strong collaboration has proven that we are never (striving) individually and our common goals are much more important than our individual interests," he stated.
The spirit has been consistently upheld since the beginning of Indonesia’s G20 Presidency to realize a strong and inclusive economic recovery, he noted.
Furthermore, he said that micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are important actors for developing countries, providing 600 million working opportunities for the domestic workforce.
Hence, MSMEs should be prioritized for support to achieve economic resilience amid global crises through the implementation of sustainable business practices and risk management plans.
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Monoarfa also highlighted the importance of social protection during the COVID-19 pandemic since, despite the increase in social protection programs during the pandemic, more than four billion people in the world have not been covered by the programs.
"We, as the (chair of the 2022 G20) presidency, focus on (developing) adaptive social protection initiatives to mitigate various (impacts of various) crises, such as pandemics, natural disasters, and disasters caused by climate change," he said.
The Indonesian G20 Presidency has also raised the issue of blended finance as an innovative financing mechanism to meet the funding needs for realizing the sustainable development goals (SDGs) through the implementation of a green economy and a blue economy, he added.
He also stressed the importance of reviving multilateralism for overcoming global challenges and accelerating the achievement of SDG targets.
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Translator: Fathur Rochman, Uyu Liman
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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