Western Australia Supports Indonesia's Dream To Become A Key Player For Listric Vehicles

Western Australia Supports Indonesia's Dream To Become A Key PLAYer For EVs (Betweens)

JAKARTA - West Australian Premier Roger Cook conveyed the state's readiness to support the development of an electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem in Indonesia with the potential for critical minerals they have.

"We want to be an important part of the supply chain, especially with Indonesia," he said when met on the sidelines of the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit (ABIS) session in Jakarta, Sunday, September 3.

Roger Cook admitted that he had signed an understanding with the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry to explore opportunities for cooperation in developing critical minerals to support the EV industry in Indonesia.

"We can make sure Western Australia is a strong investment partner with Indonesia, as well as ASEAN," he said as quoted by Antara.

Roger Cook admitted that he brought more than 100 delegates to ABIS to explore the potential for cooperation in this field.

He also hopes that there will be an agreement and an official statement of interest regarding cooperation related to the development of the critical mineral. Roger said that his party already had an MoU and an action letter (letter of action) with Kadin which was expected to produce a concrete agreement soon.

We hope that in the next few months there will be a letter of intent that leads to a business contract. We know Indonesia wants to be a key player in EV development and its components. Western Australia wants to be part of this supply chain so that we can continue to support Indonesia to become a leader in this market," he said.

In addition to exploring opportunities for cooperation in critical mineral fields, Roger said Western Australia is also targeting potential cooperation related to green energy, new and renewable energy such as hydrogen.

He said Western Australia itself has abundant energy sources such as solar power to wind beside critical minerals.

"We want to decarbonize our economy, but we also want to make sure we can provide an opportunity to decarbonize our partner's economy in ASEAN," said Roger Cook.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as Chairman of the ASEAN-Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) Arsjad Rasjid, added that both parties would immediately take concrete steps to encourage the realization of the project during the ABIS implementation.

Arsjad also said that he had gathered Indonesian and Australian businessmen to discuss this cooperation. He even said that vehicle ecosystem development partners in ASEAN such as Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines were happy and waiting for the realization of the project.

The government and Kadin are ready to facilitate this cooperation. To be sure, the enthusiasm of Indonesia and Western Australia is very high. Even our partners in Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and others are also excited because this is the opportunity," said Arsjad.