JAKARTA (ANTARA) – President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) expressed optimism that cooperation with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in developing the nickel raw materials industry will help Indonesia emerge as a major player in the global nickel market.
“We can expect to capture 80 to 85 percent of the global market share,” he said on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the 2024 President Cup in Bandung district, West Java province, which was viewed in a video broadcast by the secretariat in Jakarta on Friday.
He added that he also invited the UAE to invest in Indonesia’s nickel industry during his meeting with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ) in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
The Indonesian head of state announced that Indonesia and the UAE have proposed to work together to utilize Indonesia’s vast nickel reserves to produce electric vehicles and their batteries.
“This is about cooperation between the UAE and Indonesia. We will reach out to the other two countries as well,” he added.
President Joko and MBZ discussed possible nickel cooperation, as well as cooperation in developing a financial centre in Indonesia’s new capital, Nusantara.
The two presidents witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Authority of Nusantara Capital National (OIKN) and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) on the establishment of the financial centre.
In this regard, President Jokowi noted that Indonesia is looking to emulate the measures taken by DIFC to attract investment to its future government seat.
“We hope that the construction project for the Nusantara financial centre will commence soon,” he added.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi stressed that the UAE is one of Indonesia’s most important partners in the Middle East.
“In terms of trade, for example, we have recorded a significant increase. Between 2015 and 2023, trade volume increased by 52 percent. In 2023, the total amount reached US$3.282 billion,” she said in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
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