Nickel Resulting Countries Considered Necessary Organizational Form OPEC

JAKARTA - Investment Minister/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia proposed initiatives to establish organizations such as OPEC (The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), which is devoted to nickel-producing countries.

This was conveyed by Bahlil during a meeting with the Minister of International Trade, Promotion of Export, Small Business and Canadian Economic Development Mary Ndi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit series in Nusa Dua, Bali, Tuesday 15 November.

As fellow countries rich in mining products, especially nickel, according to Bahlil, the existence of organizations such as OPEC for nickel-producing countries can coordinate and unify nickel commodity policies. Moreover, Indonesia is currently prioritizing the downstreaming of natural resources in the context of developing an electric vehicle ecosystem.

"So far, we have seen that industrial countries that produce electric vehicles have protected them. As a result, battery raw material producing countries do not obtain optimal use of added value from the electric vehicle industry. Through this collaboration, we hope that all nickel-producing countries can benefit through the creation of even added value," Bahlil said in an official statement, quoted from Antara, Wednesday, November 16.

During the meeting, the two also explored opportunities for cooperation between the two countries and also collaboration to optimize natural resources in a sustainable manner.

Bahlil also conveyed his commitment to support the completion of the Indonesia-Canada economic cooperation agreement (Indonesia-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement/Indonesia-Canada CEPA).

He promised to coordinate further with the Minister of Trade and the Minister of Industry to accelerate the completion of the Indonesia-Canada CEPA.

Welcoming Bahlil's proposal, Minister Mary said that the next homework is for the two countries to work together and explore the opportunities for collaboration.

The two countries already have a harmonious vision regarding the optimization of natural resources in a sustainable manner that also provides economic benefits. The Canadian government has also initiated an economic transition towards a sustainable green economy, especially in terms of creating a green job field.

"In principle, we believe that collaboration needs to be done with trusted partners, and Indonesia is the right partner," said Mary.

Regarding the sustainability of CEPA negotiations with Indonesia, the Canadian Government will create a framework that will provide investors with certainty in doing their business in Indonesia, thereby increasing the trust and interest of Canadian investors in investing in Indonesia.

Based on data from the Ministry of Investment/BKPM, Canada is ranked 19th in the realization of its investment which reached US$954.7 million during the 2017 period until the third quarter of 2022.

The sector with the largest investment realization from Canada is the mining sector (90 percent), followed by the basic metal industry sector (3 percent), then hotels and restaurants (2 percent).