RI-South Korea Is Increasingly Guyub, Economic Cooperation Is A Reservoir

Photo: Doc. Coordinating Ministry for the Economy

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto some time ago was known to accompany President Joko Widodo in a meeting with South Korean President (South Korea) Yoon Suk-Yeol at the State Palace, Jakarta.

It was stated that the meeting discussed strengthening economic cooperation and increasing the value of trade and investment between the two countries.

"The strengthening of economic cooperation shows the strong collaboration between Indonesia and Korea, which this year commemorates 50 years of bilateral relations between the two countries," he said, quoted on Wednesday, September 13.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Cooperation for Electric Vehicle (EV) Ecosystem was also carried out. The Memorandum of Understanding aims to develop an electric car ecosystem in Indonesia. The cooperation regulated in the MoU includes all electric-driven transportation equipment, such as battery electric vehicles (BEV) and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV).

"Through the MoU, the two countries agreed to cooperate in building production infrastructure, charging and maintenance of EVs, training and labor exchange for maintenance, manufacturing, and research related to the EV ecosystem, as well as improving systems and policies for the expansion of electronic mobility," he said.

The MoU is in line with the discussion carried out by two Heads of State to encourage the development of the EV industry, where the two Heads of State discussed accelerating investment of Korean companies in the development of the EV ecosystem in Indonesia. The investment includes the LG consortium Grand Package project for the construction of cathode factories in Batang and battery cells in Karawang.

Coordinating Minister Airlangga stated that the MoU he signed with Minister Lee Chang-Yang could be an accelerator in synergy between the government and private sectors of the two countries in developing the national electric vehicle industry ecosystem.

Then, the two Presidents also discussed other cooperation sectors such as the maximization of the implementation of the Indonesia-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IK-CEPA), green economy funding, health industry, access to the Indonesian agricultural product market, and sending Indonesian professionals to Korea through the IK-CEPA scheme.

In addition, President Joko Widodo also invited President Yoon Suk-Yeol to continue collaborating in regional and global forums such as ASEAN and the G20.