Indonesia expects more global support for developing countries

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, expressed Indonesia's desire for increased international support to aid developing countries in achieving financial, energy, and food security. As the current chair of ASEAN and one of the largest economies with rapid growth, Indonesia advocates for more focused international assistance to vulnerable developing nations. During the third meeting of the Champion Group of the Global Crisis Response Group (GCRG) on Food, Energy, and Finance at the Head-of-State and Government level, Airlangga Hartarto highlighted that Least Developed Countries (LDCs) face significantly higher loan rates compared to developed nations. This fact, as reported by the United Nations, creates a heavy financial burden for LDCs, hindering their ability to fund essential investments and impeding progress towards sustainable development. He emphasized the importance of collective dedication from all countries to uphold the commitments made under the Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI). UN Secretary-General António Guterres also addressed the meeting, stating that half of the world is currently experiencing a development disaster triggered by the debt crisis. Nearly half of the global population, around 3.3 billion people, reside in countries where more money is spent on servicing debt interests than on critical areas like education and health. The meeting, led by Guterres and attended by GCRG Champions from various countries, aimed to share strategies in handling debt vulnerabilities. Each GCRG Champions Group also formulated a comprehensive integrated global response and coordinated actions to address food security, energy, and financial challenges, with a specific focus on debt reduction.