Coordinating Minister Airlangga Conveys The Importance Of ASEAN And GCC Collaboration As New Power In WEF

Photo: Doc. Antara

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto conveyed the importance of ASEAN collaboration and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as two new economic powers in the World Economic Forum (WEF) session.

"ASEAN and GCC are the blocks of developing countries that are expected to become new economic powers in the future," Airlangga said at the Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, quoted from Antara, Monday, April 29.

During the meeting, the delegates not only discussed demographic growth and technological developments and how to use it, but also explored the potential for collaboration between regions and between countries.

The international forum event, which was held on April 28, 2024, brought together more than a thousand world leaders and experts from various fields ranging from the government, academics, business actors, international financial institutions, to non-governmental organizations (NGO) to jointly discuss important issues facing the world today.

These issues include increasing global economic cooperation, energy transition, labor, regional cooperation, and digitalization, all of which are expected to increase economic growth inclusively.

This WEF meeting focuses on three themes, namely the first A Compact for Inclusive Growth which discusses the impact of the latest transformation such as artificial intelligence (AI), development of the digital economy in general, lack of human development index, disparity and poverty in innovation development, human resources, and entrepreneurship.

Second, the Catalizing Action on Energy for Development which invites experts in various fields to identify financial, technological, and policy solutions to increase the use of clean energy as a tool to support equitable development.

Third, the Revitalizing Global Collaboration which aims to strengthen humanitarian mission initiatives, including the potential for cooperation and joint action to mitigate the impact of the current geopolitical escalation.

Coordinating Minister Airlangga is scheduled to become a panelist in a session related to the Labour Market for the Next Generation and deliver a speech at strategic dialogue between the government and experts in ASEAN countries and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Coordinating Minister Airlangga became a panelist with Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment of Nigeria, totaling Anite; CEO of Crescent Enterprises, UAE and Young Global Loeader, Badr Jafar; Founder and Chairman of DAMAC International UAE, Hussain Sajwani; and Vice Chairman, Global Public Sector Citi, Jay Collins.

In the Joint Regional Strategy Dialogue: ASEAN-GCC session, Coordinating Minister Airlangga also delivered a joint speech with Malaysian Prime Minister Dato Anwar Ibrahim. In this session, ESDM Minister Arifin Tasrif was also one of the contributors.

In addition, Coordinating Minister Airlangga also conveyed the importance of countries in the two regions that will become new economic forces in the world to continue to carry out dialogue and deepen economic cooperation, as well as diversify trade between the two regions.