Health industry democratization key issue for G20: official

The democratization of the health industry is one of the three important matters that need to be discussed at the G20 meeting, Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Arsjad Rasjid has said.

“First, we want to talk about health because we are still in the pandemic. In the chamber’s version, this is a war on the pandemic. We are waging a war against the pandemic and (we are fighting for the recovery of the) economy, so health is very important,” Rasjid said at the V20 online discussion here on Tuesday.

When it comes to vaccine supplies, not all countries have the capacity to produce vaccines or even buy them, he pointed out. Thus, a strategy for designing the global health industry is also a key point that must be discussed at the G20 meetings, he explained.

The second point is digitalization because it can accelerate economic transformation and open more opportunities, especially for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), he said.

“For example, there is someone (a small-scale business player) who creates batik in Pekalongan (Central Java), and with digitalization, they can open a store in e-commerce and sell batik abroad. This is an example of (economic opportunity) equality that digitalization can achieve,” Rasjid elaborated.

The third point is the energy transition that is reflected in Indonesia’s global commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2060, he said. The steps to achieve the net-zero emissions target must begin from now because 2060 is close enough to carry out a transformation, he added.

“This topic focuses not only on large-scale coordination but also how we can bring MSMEs to adapt,” he said.

In January, 16 G20 events were held online and the meetings will continue in February 2022 in the hybrid format, depending on the COVID-19 situation in the country, he noted.

Source: Antara News