VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Minister of Investment and head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia has said that Indonesia is projected to become the country with the largest electric vehicle (EV) battery industry in the world.

This is due to the downstreaming of natural resources, especially raw materials for EV batteries, and the government's efforts to attract foreign investors, he added.

"We want to make Indonesia one of the biggest EV battery producers in the world," he informed during a public lecture at Sebelas Maret University in Surakarta, Central Java, on Tuesday.

The minister explained that currently, the global automotive industry is leaning toward the use of electric vehicles, and batteries are important components in their production.

"In the future, fossil fuels will be abandoned. In 2030, almost all cars will be electric with most of their components are in the battery," he said.

Lahadalia further said that the main raw materials for EV batteries are nickel, cobalt, manganese, and lithium. Indonesia's nickel reserves account for 25 percent of the total global reserves.

From 2017 to 2018, revenue from nickel exports in the form of raw materials was recorded at just US$3.3 billion. This prompted President Joko Widodo to halt the export of raw materials and focus on the downstreaming industry.

After implementing the export ban and enforcing the development policy for the nickel downstream industry in 2022, income from the export of downstream nickel products grew almost 10 times compared to revenue earned from raw material exports, Lahadalia said.

"Once we stop exporting raw nickel, we started to build a smelter and the whole industry. Now, the result of our downstream product is worth US$30 billion," he disclosed.

For developing the domestic EV battery industry, Indonesia has brought several foreign energy and automotive companies, such as CATL, BASF, VW, LG, and Ford, to invest in Indonesia, he said.

He explained that the downstream program, which is currently being intensified, is expected to increase Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) per capita to US$11 thousand in the next 10 years.

"Ten years from now, we want our income per capita to reach US$10 thousand to US$11 thousand. One of the efforts is by bringing added value through downstreaming," he informed. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - The Indonesian embassy (KBRI) in Khartoum repatriated 5 Indonesian nationals (WNI) on August 20, 2023, amid the continued armed conflict in Sudan.

Before being repatriated to Indonesia, the WNIs stayed at the Indonesian embassy in Khartoum in Port Sudan. They were mostly Indonesian migrant workers in the household sector, who lived and worked in Khartoum, according to a press release received from KBRI Khartoum on Monday.

The 5 citizens had earlier decided not to join an evacuation operation organized for other Indonesian nationals who were evacuated and brought to Indonesia in April.

"But with the widespread armed conflict still ongoing to this day, the 5 Indonesian citizens requested assistance from the Indonesian embassy to be evacuated," KBRI said.

The Indonesian government has repatriated more than 1 thousand Indonesian nationals from Sudan ever since the armed conflict between the Sudanese army (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group broke out on April 15, 2023.

Based on data from the Indonesian embassy in Khartoum, there are 1,209 Indonesian citizens living in Sudan, most of whom are students and university students.

The Sudan conflict has left more than 3 thousand civilians dead and thousands injured, the Anadolu news agency reported, citing local medics.

According to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the Sudan conflict has pushed over 20 million people into severe acute hunger.

States like Khartoum, South and West Kordofan, and parts of Darfur have been hit the hardest by famine, WFP said. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - The Head of the National Food Agency (Bapanas), Arief Prasetyo Adi, has informed that the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) has secured 1.6 million tons of rice for government rice reserves (CBP).

The rice will be used for food assistance and price stabilization programs, he added.

"A total of 1.6 million tons of rice has been secured, following the President's direction in the previous meeting," he said on Tuesday.

The CBP is continuing to increase as Bulog continues to absorb rice, he added.

Given the available CBP, he asked the community to be wise in purchasing food to meet their daily needs and avoid wastefulness.

"I emphasize that the rice stock in Bulog is safe and sufficient for the food assistance and food stabilization programs," he said.

To curb the rise in rice prices, Bapanas has intensified the Cheap Food Movement in all regions and is routinely monitoring food inflation development in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs.

To maintain the purchasing power of low-income people, the government will soon distribute rice assistance to 21.4 million beneficiary families across all provinces.

The assistance will be distributed from October to December 2023, with each beneficiary receiving 10 kilograms of rice each month.

"This rice assistance is one of the efforts to help those in genuine need," Adi said.

Based on Bapanas' price panel, the average price of medium-quality rice stood at Rp12,181 (US$0.79) per kg as of August 22, up from Rp12,144 (US$0.79) per kg on August 18.

According to the Area Sample Framework (KSA) Survey by Statistics Indonesia (BPS), rice production from August to December will come from the gadu planting season, during which the monthly production-consumption balance is expected to experience a deficit.

"Gadu" refers to the second season of rice planting, which typically occurs between May and June when the weather is hotter and drier.

"Thus, we have prepared these food reserves well from the beginning to anticipate a monthly deficit from the end of 2023 to 2024," he added. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - ASEAN and Japan have emphasized the need for enhanced energy cooperation to achieve the target of net-zero emissions or the reduction of carbon emissions to zero in the region.

ASEAN economic ministers met with a Japanese delegation during the 29th ASEAN Economic Ministers-Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry of Japan Consultation in Semarang, Central Java, on Tuesday.

The consultation was co-chaired by Indonesian Deputy Minister of Trade, Jerry Sambuaga, and Japanese State Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry, Nakatani Shinichi.

The meeting highlighted the necessity of enhancing energy cooperation in pursuit of net-zero emissions or carbon neutrality. This includes focusing on energy efficiency, energy conversion, electrification, and decarbonization of the power and transportation sectors, as per a joint media statement released on Tuesday.

The meeting also acknowledged Japan's initiatives, such as the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC), aimed at promoting such cooperation.

AZEC is a platform for Asian countries striving to achieve carbon neutrality through cooperation. Japan has committed to providing financial support of up to US$8 billion until 2030 for projects, such as renewable energy and energy-saving initiatives.

AZEC countries comprise Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

During the meeting, ASEAN and Japan also looked forward to the implementation of the "Asia Energy Transition Initiative (AETI)," which includes a wide range of bilateral support for energy transitions in Asia.

AETI, launched in 2021, initially supported the efforts of ASEAN countries to achieve net-zero emissions, including the provision of financial assistance of US$10 billion for renewable energy projects.

The meeting agreed that such initiatives can contribute to achieving a practical energy transition to address climate change and ensure energy security by leveraging Japan's experiences in multiple areas, including energy transition road map formulation and human resource development.

According to ASEAN's preliminary data, the total two-way trade between ASEAN and Japan reached US$268 billion in 2022.

In 2022, foreign direct investment (FDI) flows from Japan to ASEAN amounted to US$27 billion, making Japan ASEAN's fourth-largest trading partner and second-largest external source of FDI among ASEAN's dialogue partners. (Antaranews)