The Southeast Asian country is working to expand its cooperation with various countries.
Indonesia wants to push ahead with a free trade agreement with the U.S. to cooperate more closely with the country on raw materials as well, Reuters reports. On Thursday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo asked U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris to negotiate accordingly. The focus is on raw materials that can be used to manufacture electric vehicles and their batteries and generate renewable energy. Such an agreement is necessary for raw materials imported from Indonesia to be recognized under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA specifies a certain amount of critical minerals in batteries for e-vehicles that must be manufactured, recycled, or installed either in the U.S. itself or with a free trade partner. Otherwise, the tax credits provided for cars sold in the U.S. will not take effect.
Ahead of the meeting, Harris praised existing cooperation with Indonesia in various fields and advocated expanding it and working with Indonesia on resilient supply chains.
Agreement Concluded With South Korea
Meanwhile, the country, which has rich nickel and rare earths deposits, has concluded a cooperation agreement with another partner. According to the Korean news agency Yonhap News, the state-owned South Korean Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corp. and the Indonesia Nickel Miners Association (APNI) signed a corresponding agreement on Thursday. The two Asian countries intend to jointly develop a value chain for the exploitation of critical minerals, and there will also be an increased exchange of information and personnel.
Photo: iStock/Felix_Indarta
