JAKARTA, January 16, 2022
– G20 Indonesia represented by Bank Indonesia and the Finance Ministry held G20 Framework Working Group (FWG) virtual meeting on January, 13-14. FWG is a G20 working team which is focused to discuss efforts to encourage a strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive global growth.
On the first day, Indonesia led the meeting which discussed global economy development, FWG work plan, and major risks faced by the world. The increase in the COVID-19 cases originated from the Omicron variant dominated the discussions as it gives an impact on the various economic recovery among countries. Therefore, G20 countries encouraged the acceleration of vaccine distribution and vaccination programs in all countries, particularly in developing and least developed countries that have limited access to vaccines.
Communications and Informatics Ministry's public information and communications director-general Usman Kansong as the chairman of media and communications executive team of the G20 Presidency National Committee said, "FWG G20 meeting is an important event where world's leaders sit together to discuss the global economic recovery affected by the pandemic. We hope this meeting can produce a collective solution and a policy synergy in the economic sector in responding to various future socio-economic challenges. Under the spirit of inclusive collaboration, we are optimistic that this forum can realize the global economic recovery."
The FWG members also underlined the importance of targeted economic policies implementation to increase productivity and to drive growth in the long term, particularly in the areas of education and workforce. On the issue of major risks faced by the world today, FWG highlighted that the recalibrated macroeconomic policies to encourage economic recovery, inflation, and disruption in the supply chain needed to be the world's attention. The meeting participants also supported the work program prepared by Indonesia and the FWG Leadership and supporting policies that have communications and planning related to exit strategies and scarring effects.
The United Kingdom led the session on the second day which discussed the implications of inflation on macroeconomic policy. FWG saw that the COVID-19 pandemic crisis is different than previous crises in which the macroeconomic policy support has been coordinated better, so it can accelerate the recovery. Meanwhile, the inflations in a number of countries require macroeconomic policy calibration in the area of fiscal, monetary, and financial systems to ensure economic recovery stability. G20 countries also underlined the importance of knowledge and views sharing in formulating macroeconomic policies to support the economic recovery and better as well as strong economic growth in the long term.
The results of FWG's two-day meeting have provided direction on its 2022 agenda and become part of the topics that will be reported in the ministerial-level meeting of G20 Ministers and Central Bank Governors in February 2022.
