Indonesia Calls for Global Cooperation to Strengthen Food Security

Jakarta, The Gulf Observer: Indonesian Minister of Trade Budi Santoso has called for stronger international cooperation to enhance global food security and ensure sustainable access to food, stressing that food commodities should not be used as instruments of geopolitical pressure.

Speaking during the first session of the G20 Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Santoso said food security was closely linked to human dignity and should remain a foundation for cooperation among nations.

“Food commodities must be the foundation of human dignity. Food should not be used as an instrument of coercion,” Santoso said, according to a statement from Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade. He called for countries to overcome differences, strengthen pragmatic cooperation and ensure that food serves as a bridge between nations.

Santoso also emphasized the importance of maintaining an open, predictable and rules-based multilateral trading system. In this regard, Indonesia is promoting progress in agricultural negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO), particularly efforts to establish a permanent solution for public stockholding for food security purposes and a Special Safeguard Mechanism for developing countries.

According to the minister, public stockholding programs, when implemented proportionately and transparently, can help countries manage periods of food surpluses and shortages, maintain food access for vulnerable communities and provide reliable markets for smallholder farmers.

He said the proposed Special Safeguard Mechanism would provide developing countries with an additional instrument to respond to sudden increases in imports or significant declines in prices.

Santoso said food security rests on two key pillars: predictable access to food and resilient national food systems. Both, he added, should function consistently with the principles and objectives of the global trading system.

The Indonesian minister further stressed that every country has a legitimate right to safeguard its food security and introduce public policies aimed at protecting the interests of its people, while exercising those rights responsibly.

He described the development of resilient national food systems as not only a humanitarian priority but also an important component of economic strategy, noting their impact on trade balances, productivity, public health, inflation and economic growth.

Santoso said investment in resilient food systems should therefore be viewed not merely as social assistance, but also as a form of risk management.

The Indonesian minister’s remarks came as G20 trade ministers discussed measures to strengthen international trade cooperation and address challenges affecting food security and sustainable access to essential commodities.