ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – Minister of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia, Zulkifli Hasan, stated that industrial downstreaming is an aspect that developing countries need to make an economic leap. Downstreaming is also considered a way for a more resilient global supply chain.
“The path to resilience lies in decentralization and diversification of the global supply chain. At the same time, downstreaming encourages diversification of the global supply chain system,” said Zulkifli Hasan Outreach Session of the G7 Trade Ministers’ Meeting in Osaka, quoted on Sunday (29/10/2023).
It is said that in the last three years, delays and lack of supply have shown vulnerabilities in the supply chain management system. Moreover, the current conditions are accompanied by massive geopolitical conflicts which increase the phenomenon of trade fragmentation and acts of unilateralism.
“I believe that allowing trade fragmentation to become a broader policy will lead to detrimental and ineffective trade setbacks,” he said.
Therefore, he emphasized to the G7 countries that building supply chains is an inclusive effort. The involvement of the public and private sectors, as well as international organizations in innovation and collaboration is key.
The private sector is deemed to need to actively take advantage of various opportunities to grow by establishing strong partnerships with micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Collaboration of various parties is needed in mobilizing resources, networks, technology and expertise to build a supportive trade environment and policies.
“I believe that we need strong support from the private sector to mitigate the risks and consequences of global supply chain fragmentation,” he said.
Furthermore, Zulhas said that the perspective of cooperation between the “Global North” and “Global South” groups of countries needed to be redefined based on a mutually beneficial partnership, without discrimination and without double standards.
“The Global North and Global South groups of countries can work together constructively in this effort,” he added.
For information, this year Japan as the G7 Presidency also invited the world’s leading business sectors and companies such as Keidanren, Suzuki, Canpotex, Siemens Energy, JOGMEC, Rio Tinto and Coherent. This is Indonesia’s first participation in the G7 event.
The G7 member countries include the United States, Italy, England, France, Japan, Canada and Germany. (AT Network)
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