Canada Reaffirms Support for Indonesia’s G20 Presidency

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Canada has reaffirmed its support for successful Indonesia’s Group of Twenty (G20) presidency amid the current challenges, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“We certainly support Indonesia’s G20 presidency and hope that the G20 agenda will be successful despite the ongoing complicated geopolitical conditions,” said Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly during a joint press conference with her Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi on Monday, April 11 in Jakarta.

Joly expressed appreciation for Indonesia’s efforts in dealing with the Ukraine crisis. She said that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has caused a severe impact at various levels of multilateral forums. “The international community must urge the Russian leader to demonstrate accountability and stop violence, as well as uphold the principles of respecting territorial integrity and sovereignty of a nation,” Joly said.

Previously, Foreign Minister Retno also stressed the importance of ending the war between Ukraine and Russia. Besides, every country can use its influence to stop the war. “Tensions must be reduced and negotiations must be intensified. Each of us must use our influence to stop the war,” Retno told a virtual press briefing.

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“War will only bring suffering to mankind,” she said.

Retno also said that the principles of respecting integrity and sovereignty must be consistently upheld by all countries.

During her visit to Indonesia, Joly also had an audience with President Joko Widodo.
During the meeting, they discussed economic cooperation between the two countries as Canada is one of Indonesia’s most important trade and investment partners in the North American region.

Retno said that in 2021 the bilateral trade between both countries increased significantly by almost 30 percent and the investment value also increased by four percent.

President Widodo also highlighted the need to strengthen relations in the economic field by intensifying the negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which has begun last March.

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“The president said it was necessary to speed up the negotiations,” said Retno. “Besides, the meeting also discussed issues on clean energy and infrastructure. Canadian investors are keen to continue investing in Indonesia,” she added.

Meanwhile, Indonesia’s G20 presidency this year faces some challenges following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that started in February. Some US allies within the G20 have voiced their rejection of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attendance at the summit. This includes Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who does not wish to see President Putin at the November meeting due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

AFP news agency reported that Trudeau had shared his view with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who is hosting the G20 meeting, that Putin’s attendance would be “extraordinarily difficult for us and unproductive for the G20.”

“It would be a big issue for many countries, including Canada,” he told reporters in Ottawa.

(Writers: Mutia Fauzia, Dian Erika Nugraheny | Editors: Bagus Santosa, Diamanty Meiliana)

Sources: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2022/04/11/13125741/menlu-kanada-tegaskan-dukung-presidensi-g20-indonesia?page=all#page2.

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2022/04/11/13522931/jokowi-terima-kunjungan-menlu-kanada-bahas-kerja-sama-perdagangan-hingga.