VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesia and South Korea have agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on critical mineral development.

The latest cooperation is a follow-up to the meeting of the 12th Indonesia-Korea Energy Forum (IKEF), Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Arifin Tasrif, informed here on Tuesday.

"Through this MoU, the two countries can exchange information and human resources in the sector of critical minerals and support project collaboration between their private sectors," Tasrif said.

Cooperation on energy and mineral has been established between the two countries since 2002, and they have enjoyed good relations both at the government and private-sector levels, he noted.

The agreement on critical minerals was signed by the ministry's director general of minerals and coal, Ridwan Djamaluddin, and the director general for resources industry policy of the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), he informed.

Furthermore, the government-to-government (G to G) model was first initiated by South Korea at the 12th Indonesia-Korea Energy Forum, he said.

On January 19, 2022, South Korea had again conveyed the need for an agreement on minerals and proposed the draft MoU on critical minerals, he added.

Furthermore, the urgent need for such an agreement between the two countries was also stressed through the Joint Statement for Cooperation on Establishing Cooperative Partnership for Critical Minerals between Korea Mine Rehabilitation and Mineral Resources Corporation (KOMIR) and state-owned mining industry holding Mind ID.

Earlier, bilateral cooperation in mineral and coal sub-sectors had been established for the acid mine water project in Kutai Kartanegara district, East Kalimantan for 2014–2016. The project was valued at US$3.2 million.

The two countries have also extended their cooperation to support the mercury-polluted soil remediation program in Kalimantan by five years (2020–2025). The program is valued at US$4.6 million. (Antaranews)