Soft-spoken Jokowi emerges as surprise power broker at G-20

Indonesian President Joko Widodo attends a news press conference after the G-20 Leaders’ summit in Bali, on Nov 16, 2022. - Reuters

JAKARTA (Bloomberg): Despite being the world’s fourth-most populous nation and the biggest economy in Southeast Asia, Indonesia has long punched below its weight on international affairs. That changed at this year’s Group of 20 summit.

With a mix of careful diplomacy and good humor, Indonesian President Joko Widodo managed to bring a sense of collegiality to a world riven by conflict and crisis. A meeting that started on the resort island of Bali with high tensions around Ukraine, US-China relations, climate change and inflation ended with a joint statement that seemed improbable only days before.