Indonesian minister advocates for investment in Jokowi's mineral strategy

Indonesia's vice foreign minister wants more foreign businesses to invest in its mineral resources for local industries.

The administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has decided against exporting raw materials in favor of encouraging the growth of domestic nickel and other commodity processing industries.

During a Monday interview in Tokyo, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Pahala Mansury stated that investment in Indonesia is obviously necessary in order to process these vital minerals and other natural resources through their "downstream" initiative.

According to him, the nation is in a good position to attract investments as multinational corporations diversify their supply chains in an effort to lower geopolitical risks. The globe, he noted, was 'de-risking.' He went on to say that they were searching for new nations in order to expand the manufacturing centers' worldwide supply chain. He felt that Indonesia had a great chance to seize that opportunity.

Mansury, the head of Indonesia's economic diplomacy, traveled to Tokyo to have meetings with business executives and economic authorities from Japan. He has a wealth of commercial expertise, in contrast to many other diplomats, having held positions as president of flagship airline Garuda Indonesia and director of Bank Mandiri in the past.

The largest producer of nickel in the world—a mineral used to make batteries for electric vehicles—in Indonesia is Mansury, who called for more businesses to establish an ecosystem for battery manufacturing in Indonesia and highlighted the numerous opportunities for building a supply chain for the country's battery manufacturing industry.