The Indonesian government continues to strengthen its strategic role in promoting inclusive, resilient and sustainable global economic governance through active participation in the 2026 G20 Presidency under the leadership of the United States. The 2nd G20 Sherpa Meeting of the United States Presidency on the first day, Monday (29/06), in Washington DC officially began by focusing discussions on global trade reform and strengthening energy security. G20 member countries gathered to respond to global economic dynamics through policy proposals that are more pragmatic, fair and have a direct impact on people's welfare.
In the discussion session, the Trade Working Group (Trade Working Group) highlighted four fundamental crucial issues that distort international markets, namely the elimination of forced labor, reviewing the MFN (Most Favored Nation) principle, excess production capacity, and weaponization of food. The G20 discussed a commitment to ban imports of products resulting from forced labor because it creates artificial cost advantages that damage domestic industry. ILO data shows 28 million people are trapped in forced labor globally.
On this occasion Sherpa G20 Indonesia, Deputy for Coordination of Economic Cooperation and Investment at the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy, Edi Prio Pambudi, said that Indonesia has implemented this with domestic policy through Minister of Trade Regulation Number 9 of 2026, which limits imports of goods related to forced labor and has ratified 9 ILO Fundamental Conventions.
In addition, G20 members called for a review of the unconditional MFN principle because it was seen as failing to encourage reciprocity and limiting the optimization of bilateral trade relations. Currently, the discussion on excess capacity is directed at updating the Berlin Principles to address structural excess capacity in the manufacturing sector outside the steel industry. The G20 strongly condemns acts of "weaponization of food" that slow down or stop trade in food commodities for geopolitical pressure. G20 members proposed establishing a transparency mechanism to share information and highlight cases of alleged coercion.
In the discussion session, the Energy Abundance Working Group (Energy Abundance Working Group) agreed on a draft principle for global energy security and affordability which includes; affordability, expanding supply, diversifying the energy system, strengthening grid infrastructure, protecting against cyber/physical threats, and encouraging regulatory innovation. The G20 is also pushing for the elimination of fossil-based funding exclusion for LPG projects for cooking in developing countries. LPG is recorded to have contributed 70% of the success of global clean cooking access in the last decade. The success of acceleration in Indonesia, India and Brazil is an example of strong political commitment.
In addition, the G20 discussed water management and critical mineral partnerships, where two years of cooperation was agreed to optimize a "fit-for-purpose" approach (use of recycled water according to needs) in high-consumption sectors such as data centers and oil refineries. There are voluntary agreements formed to increase local added value around mining sites, strengthen the transparency of geological data, and encourage circularity in recycling. At the end of the first day of discussions, G20 members agreed to use artificial intelligence (AI) to speed up the energy infrastructure licensing process without eliminating environmental monitoring.
2nd G20 Sherpa Meeting Day Two
Furthermore, in the second day of the 2nd G20 Sherpa Meeting of the United States Presidency, Tuesday (30/06), the Government of the Republic of Indonesia through the G20 Sherpa consistently took a strategic position as a consensus builder. In the midst of a correction in global economic growth projections by the IMF in April 2026 to 3.1 percent due to geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East and soaring energy prices, Indonesia is offering a diplomatic solution that bridges the interests of developed and developing countries.
Deputy Edi as Sherpa G20 Indonesia emphasized that all global economic policies must be able to answer society's real challenges. Indonesia carries the principle that economic growth, financial stability and technology adoption must be experienced fairly and broaden the participation of all parties, without any country being left behind.
In the Finance Track discussion session, Indonesia underlined several strategic commitments to encourage global economic resilience amidst debt challenges and international market imbalances. "Indonesia supports the simplification of domestic regulations through the Debottlenecking Task Force to cut investment bureaucracy, as well as the optimization of Danantara to attract private capital. However, Indonesia emphasizes that deregulation must not weaken employment, social and environmental protection," said Deputy Edi.
Indonesia also supports increased cooperation on economic supervision by the IMF and OECD. Such supervision must be conducted fairly and take into account the level of economic development of each member country, rather than being used as an instrument for mutual blame. Indonesia welcomed the approval of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) template with the Paris Club under the Common Framework for transparency in debt data management. Indonesia urged a timeline for fair debt treatment between official bilateral creditors and private creditors.
On the Innovation Working Group agenda, Indonesia highlighted the importance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) governance and digital infrastructure focused on protecting communities and micro-businesses. Indonesia encouraged the concrete implementation of the G20 Roadmap for Cross-border Payments through interconnected cross-border QR systems. This measure has proven effective in reducing transaction costs and easing the financial burden on migrant workers and MSMEs. Furthermore, in response to the surge in losses due to international crypto-based investment fraud (pig-butchering networks), Indonesia is encouraging cross-border law enforcement cooperation. This is combined with cyber literacy materials specifically targeted at the elderly and novice digital users. Indonesia agreed to prohibit the use of stolen or pirated content for AI model training. However, Indonesia emphasized that the international regulatory framework must respect national data protection laws to prevent the illegal extraction of sensitive public data.
Currently, Indonesia is finalizing its National AI Roadmap and Ethical Guidelines for the health, education, finance, and creative economy sectors. "Indonesia is requesting that global AI standards be flexible and not become new compliance barriers that discriminate against MSMEs. Developing countries must be co-authors in the formulation of standards, not simply implementers of compliance," said Deputy Edi.
To avoid a new digital divide where developing countries become mere data providers and technology consumers, Indonesia is encouraging the diversification of AI infrastructure. Indonesia is inviting strategic public-private partnerships (PPPs) for inclusive investment in data centers and cloud computing capacity. Through this second day of consensus, Indonesia ensures that the global digital economy architecture remains inclusive and equitable. This step also strengthens the foundation for concrete cooperation ahead of the upcoming G20 Leaders' Summit.
Source: https://www.ekon.go.id/publikasi/detail/7006/sherpa-g20-tahun-2026-indonesia-perkuat-posisi-strategis-dorong-reformasi-perdagangan-global-ketahanan-energi-dan-pertumbuhan-ekonomi-inklusif