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Indonesia outlines six priority finance areas for G20 presidency


Indonesia will prioritise climate finance during its presidency of the ‘Group of 20’ (G20) major global economies, it has announced.

The Indonesian central bank, Bank Indonesia, has published the six priority agendas of the G20 ‘finance track’. This group brings together G20 finance ministers and central bank governors to discuss global economic, fiscal and monetary issues.

The six priority agendas are synchronising exit strategies from the global pandemic to support recovery in developing countries, addressing the ‘scarring’ effect of the pandemic to secure future growth, payment systems in the digital era, sustainable finance, digital financial inclusion and the international tax agenda.

John Yeap of Pinsent Masons said: “With Indonesia taking over the presidency of the G20 for 2022, it has the platform to showcase the successes that can be achieved during its leadership, and climate change related challenges will be at the forefront alongside pandemic recovery and digitization. With regards climate, the focus that Indonesia is placing on its decarbonization agenda will hopefully translate into substantive progress in achieving that agenda during its presidency.”

According to a joint statement, the main agenda of Indonesia's G20 presidency will focus on three areas: health, digital transformation and energy transition.

Indonesia seeks more international cooperation in cross-border payment systems, including discussions on the general principles of central bank digital currencies (CBDC), and the use of digital technology to upgrade micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

On sustainable finance, Indonesia seeks to tackle ”the financial barriers to climate change mitigation efforts” via developing carbon dioxide (CO2) emission-reduction technologies and building renewable energy facilities, according to a local report.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has asked the G20 forum to address the global funding gap for tackling the Covid-19 pandemic. Indonesian finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that the problem would be tackled under Indonesia’s G20 presidency by a health and finance working group.

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