Indonesia’s Jokowi tells G20 ‘it cannot fail’ as ‘another cold war’ looms in a world divided

Indonesia’s president Joko Widodo pleaded with world leaders on Tuesday to respect international laws and avert a “cold war”, as Southeast Asia’s biggest economy kicked off one of the trickiest G20 summits since the economic forum’s inception more than two decades ago.

In front of dozens of leaders gathered on the Indonesian island of Bali, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden, Widodo said it took “extraordinary efforts” to get everyone together in the same room.

“Today the eyes of the world are fixed upon our meeting. Are we going to achieve success, or will we add more to our failures? For myself, the G20 has to succeed, and it cannot fail” said Widodo, who is popularly known as Jokowi.