Digital Transformation Can Accelerate Global Recovery
Indonesia's G20 presidency encourages digital transformation as a means of accelerating global recovery. The digital economy is expected to play a future pivotal role in building resilience in the event of a pandemic.
By
DEONISIA ARLINTA
·5 minutes read
NUSA DUA, KOMPAS — President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the opening of the third session on the second day of the G20 Summit reiterated that the war should be stopped. He repeated his words twice, saying that the world economy otherwise will not recover given the current unfavorable global situation.
”Stop the war! I repeat. Stop the war! A lot is at stake. War will only make people suffer. The global economic recovery will not be achieved if the situation does not improve,” said President Jokowi on Wednesday (16/11/2022).
Indonesia as the G20 president also encourages digital transformation.
He said it was the responsibility of every country's leader to ensure the global situation was conducive to the world’s future. Indonesia as the G20 president also encourages digital transformation. A series of digital economy working group meetings have been held during Indonesia’s G20 presidency.
According to Jokowi, the digital economy is the future of the global economy that can build resilience in the event of a pandemic. The digital economy has contributed at least 15.5 percent to the global gross domestic product. Therefore, it is vital to continuously encourage digital transformation as part of efforts to accelerate global economic recovery.
The President further said there were three main focuses in the digital transformation proposed in Indonesia's G20 presidency. First, is digital access equality. Currently, as many as 2.9 billion people worldwide are not connected to the internet. The figure includes 73 percent of the population in less developed countries.
In addition, digital infrastructure is not evenly distributed. There are still at least 390 million people living in areas with no internet. “We must immediately fix this inequality,” Jokowi said.
The second focus is digital literacy. He asserted digital literacy was a must, not merely a choice. We must ensure that digital literacy is affordable for all people. This way, they can participate to build the future economy. Thus, the G20 must be able to strengthen cooperation toward building strong digital capacities in developing countries.
Meanwhile, the third focus is a safe digital environment. Hoaxes and cyberbullying can cause division and threaten democracy. Data leaks that occur as a result of cyber-crimes can potentially cost the world economy up to US$5 trillion in 2024. So, it is a must to guarantee digital security and privacy protection.
I’m inviting all noble contributions for a future digital world that is safe, inclusive and beneficial for all of us,” Jokowi said.
“The G20 must be able to build trust in the digital sector, including trust in global digital governance. We must work together to ensure the equality of digital benefits for all. I’m inviting all noble contributions for a future digital world that is safe, inclusive and beneficial for all of us,” Jokowi said.
Previously, alternate chair of the Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) Dedy Permadi said in a press release on Thursday (10/11) that the development of digital governance could increase the economic resilience to global crisis threats triggered by the pandemic, especially for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Digital transformation is deemed to be able to build resilience and provide opportunities in the event of economic adversity due to social restrictions. "Digital transformation is one solution to survive," he said.
He said MSMEs in Indonesia had been experiencing a digital transformation. At least 19 million MSMEs have developed their businesses digitally. This figure has significantly increased compared with the figure during the pandemic at only around 9 million. However, the figure is still far too low looking at the total number of MSMEs in Indonesia at 64 million.
Dedy said MSMEs had to be encouraged to survive and develop, so there will be an increase in terms of quality and quantity. It is hoped that they can be globally competitive.
According to him, Indonesia needs to hold discussions as a means of finding solutions at the G20 forum, so as to increase the digitalization rate of MSMEs. "There’s huge potential for digital start-ups in Indonesia. This is seen from Indonesia’s digital economy valuation of 40 percent of the total digital economy valuation in Southeast Asia," he further said.
The G20 forum also held a discussion on three issues related to digital transformation: post-pandemic connectivity and recovery, digital skills and literacy, and trustworthy cross-border and free data flow. The commercial sector was the spotlight in this discussion. Indonesia is endeavoring to facilitate the industry as a manifestation of realizing the country’s commitment to digitalize the commercial sector.
Health ministers of the G20 countries also discussed digital transformation as a priority issue in the health sector. The member countries have agreed on the importance of having a digital-based travel certificate system for health. This system is essential to facilitate the mobility of international travelers in times of a pandemic.
This health document digitalization will be proposed in the revision of the International Health Regulations (IHR) at the World Health Organization (WHO) meeting next year. With this proposition, it is expected that the implementation of the system can take place.
"We have successfully obtained approval from all G20 countries for the digital health passport standard. It will be further processed at the WHO through the IHR. So, in the event of a pandemic, people who have been tested and vaccinated will not have mobility restrictions. This way, the economy will not be hindered,” said Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin in an interview in Bali on Sunday (13/11).