Name? Joko Widodo
Westphalian identity? Indonesian
Age? 60
Why is he in the news? Indonesian President Joko Widodo is currently holding the presidency of the G20 which means he will also be hosting the next summit. Here, world leaders come together to discuss matters of the global economy. This year food security and tackling inflation will be the main priorities.
Why do we care? Because among the G20 nations is also Russia, hence President Putin will attend. Western nations have already urged Widodo not to invite Putin over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to which Widodo responded that “Indonesia wants to unite the G-20.” This means that in November, two fronts will collide at the G20 meeting. On the one side, the West who has portrayed itself as the protector of Ukraine and on the other side, the Rest who have refused to cut ties with Russia.
Why should you care? Apart from the real matters to be discussed such as inflation and global food security, you should DEFINITELY care 10/10 about the diplomatic lead up (gossip) to this G20 summit.
Who else cares? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He has been invited to attend as a guest by President Widodo. Zelenskyy already stated that he hopes ‘no occupiers’ will be in attendance, aiming his comment at Putin; but given the nature of other attendees that might be difficult. That said, countries such as France, the UK/US, Japan and Turkey can also be considered occupiers. Maybe that is why Zelenskyy will only attend online…
Any further comments? One particularly interesting moment will be the gathering for the traditional “family photo”. If attending the same summit as Putin is already a red line for some leaders, then how many will be willing to take a picture with him? Maybe it will only be President Widodo standing alongside Putin because everyone else is too preoccupied signaling discontent…rather than actually solving issues such as inflation or global food security…
