World still narrowly segregated into political blocs, Widodo says at WGS 2023 in Dubai

Indonesian President says the alliances are causing inequality to worsen

Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, concludes the World Government Summit with a talk entitled 'The Emirates: A Family of Solid Roots and a Vibrant Future'. WAM

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, listens to Sheikh Saif. WAM

Najla Bouden, Prime Minister of Tunisia, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Wavel Ramkalawan, President of Seychelles, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Dr Maeen Saeed, Prime Minister of Yemen and Panagiotis Pikrammenos, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece, at the summit. Photo: Presidential Court

Joko Widodo, President, Government of the Republic of Indonesia speaking at the World Government Summit held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Huda AlHashimi, Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Strategic Affairs, United Arab Emirates during the interview at the World Government Summit held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Left to Right - Nasser Al-Khater, Chief Executive Officer, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and Najeeb AlAli, Executive Director, Expo 2020 Bureau speaking during the session on Hosting Major Events: An Arab Success Story at the World Government Summit held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Elon Musk and Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, speak on day three of the World Government Summit in Dubai. Mr Al Gergawi is also chairman of the summit. Pawan Singh / The National

Ian Bremmer, president and founder of Eurasia Group, speaking during a session called 'Beyond 2023: A Global Outlook'. Pawan Singh / The National

Delegates gather at Madinat Jumeirah for the summit. Pawan Singh / The National

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, presents the World Data Visualisation Award to Lindsey Poulter. Pawan Singh / The National

Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, addresses delegates at the summit. Pawan Singh / The National

National flags displayed at the global event. Pawan Singh / The National

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the event using a video link. Antonie Robertson / The National

People gather for the second day of the summit. Antonie Robertson / The National

Huda Al Hashimi, right, Deputy Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Strategic Affairs, on stage with Waleed Al Ali, left, Secretary General of the Digital School, and Reda Hegazy, Egypt's Minister of Education. Antonie Robertson / The National

Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and Cop28 President-designate, speaks during a session titled The Road Map to Cop28: Prioritising Action. Pawan Singh / The National

Dr Al Jaber, who is also the UAE's special envoy for climate change, addresses delegates in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Day two of the World Government Summit. Antonie Robertson/The National

Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Digital Economy, AI and Remote Work System, and Nick Clegg, president of Global Affairs at Meta, at the summit. Pawan Singh / The National

Delegates at the World Government Summit held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Mina Al-Oraibi, Editor-in-Chief of The National newspaper, Kersti Kaljulaid, fifth President of Estonia, and Mona Al Marri, vice president of the UAE Gender Balance Council. Pawan Singh / The National

Delegates during the session on Women in Government: Powering the Future. Pawan Singh / The National

President Sheikh Mohamed, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi. Photo: Dubai Media Office

Sheikh Mohamed greets Mr El Sisi. Photo: Presidential Court

Mr El Sisi presents the Global Best M-Gov Award to the winners as Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, looks on. Photo: Presidential Court

Mr El Sisi presents the Global Best M-Gov Award. Photo: Presidential Court

Mr El Sisi presents the Global Best M-Gov Award. Photo: Presidential Court

Sky News Arabia's media relations director Faisal bin Huraiz sits alongside Mr El Sisi at the summit. EPA

Francesco La Camera, Director General of International Renewabale Energy Agency, speaks at the summit. Antonie Robertson / The National

Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence at the summit. Antonie Robertson / The National

Mohamed Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer, Masdar. Antonie Robertson / The National

Marco Dunand, CEO and Co-founder, Mercuria Energy Group. Antonie Robertson/The National

Christian Bruch, President and CEO, Siemens Energy. Antonie Robertson / The National

Ahmed Bahrozyan, chief executive of the Public Transport Agency at the RTA. Antonie Robertson / The National

RTA's flyng taxi and sky port project powered by Joby. Virtual simulation of the flying experience. Antonie Robertson / The National

will.i.am speaking during the session on Accelerating Tech: The New Frontier for Policy-making at the World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Doron Avni, Google VP of Government Affairs and Public Policy Emerging Markets speaking during the session on Accelerating Tech: The New Frontier for Policy-making at the World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Sujay Jaswa, Founder and Managing Partner, WndrCo speaking during the session on Accelerating Tech: The New Frontier for Policy-making at the World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the chairman of the World Government Summit, delivers the opening speech. Pawan Singh / The National

Al Gergawi highlighted the rapid change the world has seen in the decade since the event was first held. Pawan Singh / The National

Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, speaks at the summit. Pawan Singh / The National

Georgia's Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili speaks at the World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Al Gergawi and Schwab held a joint discussion. Pawan Singh / The National

Delegates standing during the moment of silence for the Turkey – Syria earthquake before the start of World Government Summit in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

Delegates at the World Government Summit held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo says the world is still narrowly segregated into country blocs that need to be broken down.

That countries with coronavirus vaccines dished them out to friends and allies before making them available to others was case in point, he told the World Government Summit in Dubai in a pre-recorded address.

Mr Widodo, the leader of one of the world's most populous nations with 270 million people, said the pandemic had put the spotlight on how many nations had been left behind.

“It is imperative for multilateralism to be strengthened in order to save and build the world,” he said.

“The problem we face cannot be compartmentalised.

“However, the fact is that the world is currently divided into blocs. This is a significant challenge that must be addressed by the world today.

“Strong division of blocs among superpowers must be stopped immediately.”

He said humanitarian issues should not be addressed based on global political blocs.

The pandemic shed light on how divided the world was, with poor countries not having enough access to vaccines as compared to others.

“We must never see again a situation where vaccines, medical equipment and medicine are associated with political blocs,” said Mr Widodo.

“If we are not able to avoid political blocs, we should at least dismiss this factor when it comes to humanitarian issues.”

“Inequalities among countries have made it difficult to deal with our common challenges. Financial, technological, human resources and industrial inequality have proved to be an impediment to dealing with global crises.

“Inequalities in focus and energy supply and manufacturing must also be reduced.”

He also touched on how Covid-19 taught the world an extraordinary lesson.

“Three years ago, at the beginning of the pandemic, the world was powerless. Not only low and middle-income countries were struggling, but also high-income countries were left unprepared against the pandemic,” he said.

“We have learnt many lessons from the challenges of the past three years. First, there is no safe salvation; rather, there is shared safety. No one is truly safe until everyone is safe. Therefore, a shared safety agenda must be prioritised by all countries.”