Indonesia’s Strategy Becomes Developed Country, Create EV Ecosystem
- Dok: Wuling Motors
VIVA – The government is preparing a big strategy for Indonesia to become a developed country and not be in middle income trap country. This strategy is creating an ecosystem of the Electric Vehicle (EV) and EV battery then other countries have a dependency on Indonesia.
This was conveyed by the Indonesian President, Joko Widodo in his remarks when attending the 8th Anniversary and Kopi Darat Nasional Partai Solidaritas Indonesia (PSI) at the Djakarta Theater, Jakarta, Tuesday, January 31, 2023.
"We want to unite all this natural wealth into one item that is needed, called EV batteries, Lithium batteries. There are components from nickel, copper, tin, bauxite, and we have to unite them, integrate them so that an EV battery will emerge and then create an ecosystem," President Jokowi stated.
"This makes other countries inevitably look for these goods," the President added.
President Jokowi realized that integrating the components of batteries and electric cars is not easy even though Indonesia has almost all the materials needed. In terms of geography, the challenge is how to bring together various mining materials whose locations are scattered in various parts of Indonesia.
"What is difficult is the geography of our country. There is a lot of nickel in Sulawesi, some in North Maluku. Copper is in Papua, and in Sumbawa, these are the big ones. Bauxite is in West Kalimantan and the Riau Islands, in Bintan. Tin is in Bangka Belitung. How to integrate this, there are smelters here, there are smelters there, put together into goods called EV batteries and electric cars," President Joko Widodo explained.
Then, the next challenge is from the external side, for example, the European Union's lawsuit against Indonesia because the government stopped nickel exports in the form of raw materials.
Although Indonesia lost the lawsuit at the World Trade Organization (WTO), President Jokowi emphasized that the government will not back down and will remain consistent in stopping the export of other mining goods in the form of raw materials.
"If we are sued and then we retreat, do not expect this country to become a developed country, do not expect," President Joko Widodo emphasized.