After encouraging economic performance during the first half of 2021, Indonesia’s enviable advance was thwarted by a resurgence in Delta-variant COVID cases during the third quarter, prompting forecasters to lower their GDP growth projections. Will Southeast Asia’s leading economy pull through this downturn and regain its momentum?
It’s hard to pick the biggest loser of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Multiple Asian tiger economies were impacted, to such an extent that the IMF rolled out one record-breaking relief package after another. The multiple factors leading up to the crash were complex, but did the turmoil strengthen the region to withstand future crises?
Instead of prodding countries together to fight a common enemy, the pandemic has in many cases driven nations apart, leading them to insulate themselves from others, thereby threatening years of progress in forging trade partnerships. COVID-19 has exposed many of the inherent weaknesses in the current trade system but also made a strong case for strengthening global connectivity through advances such as digitalization so that all countries can prosper side-by-side.
A key global initiative that currently unites much of the world is the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Launched by the United Nations back in 2015, Agenda 2030 is an action plan for “people, the planet and prosperity”, which countries and stakeholders, acting in collaborative partnership, have pledged to implement.