Indonesia’s Trade Minister Urges Developing Nations to Accelerate Sustainable Industrialisation at G20 Meeting

Jakarta, The Gulf Observer: Indonesia’s Minister of Trade, Budi Santoso, on Friday urged developing countries to accelerate sustainable industrialisation by prioritising three key areas of development to strengthen their economic resilience and competitiveness.

Speaking during the second session of the G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting (TIMM) held in Gqeberha, South Africa, Santoso outlined that the first priority should be enhancing and utilising productive capacity to enable transformation toward high value-added, science-based industries.

“The second is to move up the global value chain by expanding the manufacturing base in strategic sectors such as semiconductors, electric vehicle batteries, and pharmaceuticals,” the minister said in a written statement released on Saturday.

As the third priority, he emphasised the need to develop green industries to support a transition toward an inclusive and fair low-carbon economy.

Santoso called for a stronger commitment to a just, inclusive, and sustainable multilateral trading system amid persistent geopolitical and trade tensions. He underlined that developing nations must reinforce domestic resilience through sound strategic policies capable of responding to global challenges.

“Economic strength must be built from within through sound policies, strong regional connectivity, and productive cross-border collaboration,” Santoso remarked.

Highlighting the significance of regional trade, he said it plays a vital role in strengthening supply chains and expanding market access, noting that ASEAN serves as an anchor of stability and a regional production base across various sectors.

Santoso further urged developing economies to remain vigilant and adopt forward-looking policies to safeguard both national and global economic stability.

“Amid global turbulence and economic pressure, hope is not a strategy — preparedness is the answer,” he stated.

The minister’s remarks came as G20 members discussed measures to address supply chain disruptions, industrial transformation, and sustainable investment as part of collective efforts to bolster global economic recovery.