Indonesia and the G20 Summit: Don’t just talk about Ukraine

As the host of the G20 summit, Indonesia’s President Widodo would prefer to only talk about economic issues. Instead, the focus will be on the Ukraine war. Now Widodo tries the balancing act.

In June, Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited Ukraine and then Russia. Hands were shaken, photos taken. Indonesia tried its hand as a mediator – and invited both Ukraine and Russia to the G20 summit, which will take place in Bali next week.

He relies on dialogue, says Widodo: “I invite all world leaders to revive the spirit of multilateralism, peace and cooperation. Only with this spirit can peace be achieved.”

A different foreign policy

Reynaldo de Archellie explains that Indonesia pursues a different foreign policy than the USA or Europe. He teaches Russian studies at the country’s largest state university. “Indonesia pursues a free and active foreign policy,” says de Archellie.

And that means Indonesia has the freedom to talk and build relationships with any country in the world. “In the case of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Indonesia has opted for dialogue, while the European Union or the US prefer sanctions,” continued de Archellie.

From an Indonesian perspective, sanctions would do more harm than help, says Budiman Sujadmiko, a member of the ruling party and former MP. And he explains: “Energy and food security are being shaken by the sanctions. We do not want to pour gasoline on a fire that is already burning.”

focus on economy

President Widodo says he wants to talk about solving problems at the G20 summit – and for the former businessman that means above all economic issues. He has set three priorities: good health care for everyone, greater digitization and the switch to renewable energies.

“The problem here is that we currently have an enormous risk that the G20 summit will be politicized,” comments Frederick Kliem, a political scientist at the RSIS research institute in Singapore. According to Kliem, topics such as post-Covid, economic recovery, renewable energies, food security or supply chain security should actually be discussed at the summit – topics that are in danger of being lost.

Big differences on the agenda

Many emerging and developing countries set different priorities than the West at the G20 summit, says Kliem. For her, the focus is less on the Ukraine war and more on the economic recovery after the Covid pandemic.

That’s the big difference, according to Kliem: “What’s at the top of the political agenda in the political West and what’s at the top of the agenda in the emerging countries – and those are different things.” From the Indonesian point of view, the summit participants should therefore deal more with the economic issues and their impact on the population.

Investors instead of geopolitics

Indonesian entrepreneur Agus Sari has met the Indonesian President several times. He appreciates Widodo as a clever politician who knows how to achieve his goals, he says. And an important goal of Widodo as host is to make Indonesia better known in the world and to attract investors to the country. “Indonesia is the largest invisible country in the world,” says Sari. “It’s big, but nobody knows where it is. The G20 summit is a good way to publicize it.”

With more than 270 million inhabitants, Indonesia is the fourth largest country in the world. And the country with the world’s largest Muslim population. This is spread over thousands of islands. On one of them, in Bali, the heads of state and government of the 20 most important industrialized and emerging countries are coming together.

And even if host Joko Widodo would prefer to only deal with economic issues at the G20 summit, he will probably have to manage geopolitical conflicts.