Clinching the G-20 presidency has been a way for Jokowi’s administration to showcase the country’s potential and his officials are not going to let that opportunity pass. — Reuters
JAKARTA: Indonesia is using the Group of 20 (G-20) summit next week to power through deals ranging from infrastructure to carbon trading that spotlights its ambitions as a South-East Asian economic powerhouse.
Much is at stake for Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who is targeting US$89bil (RM421bil) in investments next year while pushing ahead with a US$34bil (RM161bil) new capital in Borneo.
All these plans need funding and support from wealthier, developed nations.
“This message is mostly for the domestic audience to show that the G-20 forum running this whole time did result in some concrete projects,” said Yose Rizal Damuri, executive director at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
It’s also a way for Jokowi, as the president is popularly known, to leave behind a legacy of growth and investment, he added. Jokowi is currently in his second and final term in power.
Indonesia has long been criticised by analysts for not punching above its own weight for economic and diplomatic influence given its domestic pressures and political elites.
Clinching the G-20 presidency has been a way for Jokowi’s administration to showcase the country’s potential and his officials are not going to let that opportunity pass.
Indonesia aims to clinch a deal during the summit with rich countries to fund programmes to phase out coal.
Jokowi has pledged to shut all of the archipelago’s coal-fired power plants by 2050 and be 100% dependent on renewable sources five years later.
However, his cabinet has been divided on how to phase out coal, which contributes over half of the country’s total power capacity.
The Asian Development Bank is studying similar plans for Vietnam and the Philippines, hoping to announce a concrete result during the summit. — Bloomberg
