BINTAN - Singapore is very honoured to be invited by Indonesia to attend this year's Group of 20 (G-20) summit, and will do its best to contribute to discussions there, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Tuesday (Jan 25).
Indonesian President Joko Widodo extended the invitation to attend this year's meeting to PM Lee during their fifth Leaders' Retreat, which was held in Bintan on Tuesday.
Indonesia assumed the one-year G-20 presidency last December, taking over from Italy, and will host this year's summit in October or November in Bali.
Under the theme "Recover Together, Recover Stronger", Indonesia hopes to get countries to work together to achieve a stronger and more sustainable world recovery from Covid-19.
Among Jakarta's priority issues during its presidency of the G-20 are strengthening the global health architecture and fostering a sustainable energy transition.
Last week, Mr Widodo told the World Economic Forum that Indonesia will push the grouping for a permanent solution to global health emergencies by forming a new multilateral institution modelled after the International Monetary Fund.
The G-20 comprises 19 major advanced and emerging economies and the European Union. Singapore is not a G-20 member, but has been invited to participate in many past G-20 summits and related meetings as the convenor of the Global Governance Group (3G), which is an informal grouping of 30 small and medium-sized members of the United Nations.
Established by Singapore in 2009, the 3G aims to promote greater dialogue between the G-20 and the broader United Nations membership.
At a joint press conference following the signing of a raft of bilateral agreements on Tuesday, Mr Lee said: "We look forward to supporting Indonesia's G-20 chairmanship and making it a success."
