By Dzikra Harumi
The 144th Session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Bali opened up many opportunities for cooperation between countries. This cooperation is certainly very beneficial for each country, especially to revive the economy after the collapse due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Indonesia as the host of the 144th IPU session did not waste this opportunity. On the sidelines of the agenda for the 144th IPU session, Indonesia held a bilateral meeting with a number of countries on Tuesday (22/3). The countries attending the bilateral meeting were Germany, Iran, Belarus, and Cambodia.
Deputy Chairperson of the House of Representatives Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Agency (BKSAP) Putu Supadma Rudana explained that international cooperation is needed in improving and re-growing the economy after the Covid-19 pandemic. It is hoped that this meeting will be followed up with more comprehensive and concrete cooperation.
The Iranian delegation, for example, assessed that Indonesia had tremendous potential in the trade sector. Thus, Iran hopes that trade cooperation between countries can be increased. Meanwhile, the Cambodian delegation discussed the presidency of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly.
As we know, the Covid-19 pandemic has hit all dimensions of life globally. How Covid-19 which attacked the health sector in the end gave a domino effect in other fields. Currently, although a number of countries are trying to rise from adversity as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, this process still cannot take place quickly, aka sim salabim.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is worried that the world economy will lose momentum due to the recession following the Covid-19 pandemic last year. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva then revised the projection of global economic growth in 2022 in parallel with an increase in cases of the omicron variant.
If the IMF previously projected economic growth of 4.9 percent in 2022, it is smaller than 2021 which is projected to grow 5.9. The IMF is concerned about the threat of the spread of the COVID-19 variant, starting from deltas, inflation, and rising food and fuel prices. This causes low-income countries to be eroded due to limited access to vaccines. For this reason, the IMF calls 2022 a year full of pressure in terms of debt.
Meanwhile, the World Bank emphasizes the gap in economic recovery between developing and developed countries. The World Bank expects 90 percent of developed countries to return to pre-pandemic levels of per capita income this year. The recovery is predicted to continue into 2022 with global growth moderate to 4.3 percent. Global GDP is expected to remain nearly 2 percent below pre-pandemic projections.
Based on all the predictions from the world’s financial institutions, it is only natural for Indonesia to start knitting and increasing cooperation with countries in the world to revive the economy. The 144th IPU Session is a momentum for Indonesia’s economic revival.
I am sure that the government has planned well for the revival of the national economy through the event of the 144th IPU session. Indonesia’s bilateral meeting with Germany, Iran, Belarus and Vietnam is one of the steps taken by the government to improve the country’s economy.
