Prabowo's First Visit Agenda Abroad, Efforts To Invest America And Germany

President Prabowo Subianto at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta (doc Setneg)

JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto will seek to withdraw investment from auto giants America, Ford, and its German counterpart Volkswagen on its first overseas visit later this month. Prabowo plans to spend most of November overseas.

Prabowo will meet with G-20 leaders in Brazil. The government has confirmed Prabowo's presence in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) in Peru. The newly appointed president will also stop in China and the US to meet with leaders of each country, Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, before attending the multilateral forum.

According to Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Erick Thohir, Prabowo will encourage the development of the Indonesian electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem during his overseas trip.

Regarding the foreign tour, Mr. President. I have asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Sugiono) to include this in the agenda. So that the president starts discussing efforts to attract Ford Motor Company investment in Indonesia. The same applies to Volkswagen," Erick said Monday.

"Indonesia wants to play a role in the global EV battery supply chain," added Erick.

The nickel mining company Vale has partnered with Ford and cobalt supplier from China, Huayou, to build a nickel processing plant worth US$4.5 billion in Kolaka, Southeast Sulawesi. According to reports, Vale is also working with Volkswagen for high-pressure acid treatment facilities.

The Indonesian government owns 34% of shares in Vale through the state mining holding company: MIND ID. Interestingly, foreign investors have become an important part of Indonesia's big mining industrialization plan.

Since 2020, Indonesia has stopped exporting nickel ore that has not been processed in order to produce semi-finished goods or finished goods in the country. In this way, this nickel-rich country can export goods that have a greater impact on the economy.

The nickel import restriction also aims to encourage global car manufacturers and battery manufacturers to set up their production factories in Indonesia.

The strategy to bring Indonesia up into the EV value chain is an integral part of the previous government's economic policy led by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). Prabowo has also expressed his intention to continue Jokowi's downstream policy on several occasions.