Have The Largest Nickel Reserves, Coordinating Minister Airlangga: Indonesia Is Ready To Supply US Electric Vehicle Batteries

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto held a bilateral meeting with US Trade Minister Gina Raimondo. (DOC. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - On the sidelines of the meeting of the Minister of Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) in Detroit, USA, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said Indonesia was ready to become a supplier of electric vehicle batteries to the United States (US).

"Indonesia is ready to cooperate in the development of electric vehicles, especially as a supplier of electric vehicle batteries to the United States," said Coordinating Minister Airlangga when meeting with US Trade Minister Gina Raimondo, as received in Jakarta, Saturday.

In a meeting with the US Minister of Trade on Friday (26/5) local time, Airlangga said Indonesia as a country with a large amount of nickel reserves could become a strategic partner of the US in developing electric vehicles.

According to the US Geological Survey Data, Indonesia's nickel reserves ranked first, reaching 21 million tons or equivalent to 22 percent of global reserves. Indonesia's nickel production is also ranked first at 1 million tons, exceeding the Philippines (370 thousand tons) and Russia (250 thousand tons).

Trade Minister Raimondo appreciated Indonesia's support in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and said that cooperation in developing electric vehicle batteries could have a major impact on both countries, especially the provision of employment opportunities.

"IPEF can be an entry point for American business actors to invest in Indonesia, especially in the critical mineral, semiconductor, and high technology sectors," Raimondo said, quoted by ANTARA, Saturday, May 27.

Related to this, Airlangga said that Indonesia had carried out various structural reforms, one of which was through the Omnibus Law (UU Cipta Kerja) to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) and improve the investment climate.

At the meeting, Airlangga and Raimondo also discussed the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the US and opportunities for critical mineral products from Indonesia.

Airlangga also emphasized the need for various concrete projects in Pillar III IPEF, including the implementation of Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) in a sustainable infrastructure development area.

The implementation of PGII is believed to help the domestic support of the participating countries in advancing the Pilar III negotiations.

The meeting was held in a series of events for the Coordinating Minister for the Economy's presence at the IPEF Ministerial Meeting which was held on 26-27 May 2023 in Detroit, USA.