JAKARTA, January 21, 2022
- The G20 Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) had its first meeting under the Indonesian G20 Presidency in an event hosted by the Ministry of Finance and Bank Indonesia on 20-21 January 2022. Brahmantio Isdijoso, Director of Government Support and Infrastructure Financing Management at the Ministry of Finance, set out the priorities of the Indonesian Presidency for 2022, delivered a report from the December Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting, and proposed an infrastructure agenda for 2022.
The IWG meeting was held over two consecutive days. The discussion covered six different topics and was moderated by the IWG co-chairs who are from Australia and Brazil. The first day of discussions focused on private sector participation in sustainable infrastructure investment, social inclusion and sub-national disparities, and gaps in InfraTech infrastructure. On the second day, the group discussed transformative infrastructure, GI Hub Governance, and the Quality Infrastructure Investment (QII) indicators. The co-chairs summarized the discussion and outlined next steps and considerations for the First Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting of the Indonesian Presidency which will be hosted in Jakarta next month.
The 2022 Work Program for the Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) reflects the widespread impact of the COVID-19 pandemic across sectors. Indonesia indicated that The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted investment flows into infrastructure. Meanwhile, shrinking fiscal space has forced governments to focus their limited resources on areas such as health and social security. The pandemic has also widened existing disparities on infrastructure delivery among sub-national governments and regions. Finally, the Presidency emphasized the importance of redefining the role of infrastructure investment during and after the pandemic.
The meeting was also attended by Spain as the G20 permanent guest, selected guest countries, and International Organizations such as Global Infrastructure Hub (GIH), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Multilateral Development Banks, the OECD, and other relevant International Organizations.
