Indonesia can be a Russia-Ukraine ‘bridge of peace’ as it reaches ‘pinnacle of global leadership’, Joko Widodo says

Name: Russia promises to open sea route for Ukrainian wheat, says Indonesian president
Uploaded: 2022-08-16T07:17:14.000Z
Duration: 2 min 37 s
Description: Russia promises to open sea route for Ukrainian wheat, says Indonesian president

Indonesia’s presidency of the G20 in 2022 and chairmanship of Asean next year shows its growing stature on the global stage, Widodo said

Speaking ahead of independence day celebrations, the Indonesian president said his country ‘has been accepted as a [Russia-Ukraine] diplomatic bridge’

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo, wearing traditional attire from the Bangka Belitung islands, gestures as he delivers a state of the nation address in Jakarta on Tuesday ahead of the country’s independence day. Photo: Reuters

Reutersin Jakarta

Published: 3:17pm, 16 Aug 2022Updated: 7:40pm, 16 Aug 2022

Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Tuesday hailed his country’s growing stature on the global stage and reiterated calls for the Southeast Asian nation to be a “bridge of peace” between Russia and Ukraine.

“In 2022, we hold the presidency of the G20, an international forum made up of the world’s largest economies. Next year, we will assume the chairmanship of Asean,” he said in an annual state of the nation speech a day before Indonesia celebrates 77 years of independence. “It indicates that we [are at the] pinnacle of global leadership.”

As head of the G20 this year Jokowi, as the president is known, has taken an increasingly active role in foreign affairs.

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Russia promises to open sea route for Ukrainian wheat, says Indonesian president

In late June he travelled to Kyiv and Moscow to meet with his Ukrainian and Russian counterparts, Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin, as part of diplomatic efforts to find a peaceful solution to the war and ease the global food crisis. He was the first Asian leader to do so.

Indonesia, he said, “has been accepted as a diplomatic bridge” between the two nations.

In the televised national address Jokowi also noted the country’s economic fundamentals remain strong amid a volatile global economy.

In his annual budget speech to parliament, the president proposed a smaller budget for 2023 than for this year, pledging to consolidate fiscal positions after racking up large deficits during the pandemic. The president proposed a budget of 3,041.7 trillion rupiah (US$205.94 billion) for next year, with a deficit of 2.85 per cent of gross domestic product, the smallest budget gap since 2019.

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