Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia is seeing rising interest from several G20 member states, particularly in Africa, to expand agricultural and economic cooperation, Deputy Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Natsir said Saturday after a series of bilateral meetings at the G20 Summit in South Africa.
Speaking at an online press briefing from Johannesburg on Saturday evening, Arrmanatha said African countries had actively sought meetings with Jakarta.“What’s interesting is that several African countries wanted to meet us because they want to strengthen economic cooperation,” he said.
He said Indonesia held six bilateral meetings with G20 members, most of which focused on boosting economic ties. A key demand, he noted, was closer cooperation in the agricultural sector, especially coffee.
Arrmanatha cited Angola’s request for Indonesia to share expertise in agriculture, including the development of civet coffee. India, he added, also expressed interest in similar cooperation.
“So this cooperation involves areas that are more advanced but also fundamental to our economies,” he said.
The summit, he said, capped a series of Global South leaderships within the G20.
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“This shows that the Global South is not only an observer in global economic governance but also a co-driver,” he said.
He pointed to the Leaders’ Declaration, which included issues central to developing countries, such as debt management, disaster risk reduction and challenges to the global financial system.
Arrmanatha also highlighted South Africa’s initiative as G20 chair to review the forum’s role over the past 20 years. The review aims to identify the group’s strengths and the obstacles faced by member states—an assessment he said is crucial for shaping the G20’s future direction.
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The G20 Summit addressed a wide range of global challenges across three sessions. The first covered sustainable economic issues, the role of trade and finance in development, and debt problems in developing nations.
The second focused on building a resilient world, addressing disaster management, climate change, a just energy transition and global food systems. The third session discussed decent work and governance of artificial intelligence.
