Crises will bite harder without shared readiness, Anwar tells G20

Drawing from Malaysia’s experience chairing Asean this year, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says the lesson is clear - resilience comes from common preparedness, not isolation.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim delivered Malaysia’s intervention at the first session of the G20 Leaders’ Summit at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in South Africa today. (Bernama pic)

JOHANNESBURG:

 Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called for deeper collective preparedness to navigate global crises, adding that coordinated policies and stable, predictable rules reduce the severity of their impact.

Drawing from Malaysia’s experience chairing Asean this year, Anwar said the lesson is clear – resilience comes from common preparedness, not isolation.

“This lesson matters because the next disruption will likely be harder to contain. Artificial intelligence (AI) will reorganise labour markets at a pace our institutions will struggle to match.

“Without early investment in transitions, workers – especially the young and women – will face these shifts alone,” he said in his intervention during the first session of the G20 Leaders’ Summit at the Johannesburg Expo Centre today.

He warned that unpreparedness for globalisation has been shown to result in stagnant wages, erode public trust and the rise of politics that feed on grievance.

“With AI, destabilisation becomes a real risk if countries enter this transition unprepared. This will be one of the defining challenges of our times,” he said.

Anwar said countries must equip their people, particularly the young, to keep up with the pace of evolving technology.

“Opportunities for training and credible safety nets are essential. Small and medium-sized firms, which carry much of the employment burden, will need support.”

He also highlighted the importance of open and predictable trade, saying that connected markets and clear, stable rules strengthen supply chains and boost investor confidence.

“We have therefore moved quickly on the Asean digital economy framework agreement, which will set common standards for data, payments and digital trade.”

Anwar also said many developing economies were spending more on servicing debt than on education or investment, leading towards fiscal exhaustion.

“Countries need the capacity to invest ahead of disruption, not after. Multilateral development banks must be ready to deploy more quickly and work closely with countries to support the investments that build resilience.”

He said Malaysia is ready to work with all partners to meet this common challenge and to help sustain an open, predictable global economy that gives people a fair chance to thrive.

South Africa currently chairs the G20 and is hosting the summit under the theme Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability.

Anwar is attending the G20 summit in his capacity as Asean chair. - FMT