Inp.polri.go.id - Badung.  Abdul Kadir Jailani, the Director General for Asia-Pacific and Africa at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced that Indonesia is seeking to broaden its cooperation with African nations on minerals for electric vehicle (EV) battery production.

“To produce an electric battery, we need various minerals, not just nickel. Several African countries possess these essential minerals,” he said during a press conference at the Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF) in Badung, Bali on Sunday (1/9/2024).

Abdul highlighted existing partnerships, such as with Tanzania on lithium, to demonstrate that relying solely on domestic resources is insufficient.

“This energy cooperation is crucial because Indonesia requires a range of critical minerals for the energy transition, and we can't produce all of them ourselves,” he noted.

Abdul also emphasized Africa's significant trade potential and suggested that Indonesia should intensify business relations with the continent, which remains an underutilized market.

(mg/inp/pr/nm)