The Western Australian Government has signed a Plan of Action with Indonesia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), which is set to further strengthen Western Australia’s economic ties, trade, and supply chain opportunities with Indonesia.
Western Australian Premier, Roger Cook signed the plan during a visit by Republic of Indonesia President, Joko Widodo.
It follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Western Australia and KADIN in February 2023 to provide a framework that constructs and secures the supply chains of critical minerals and promotes investment and collaboration to develop value-adding critical minerals and battery industries.
The 2023-2025 Plan of Action has three pillars of cooperation which are to develop resilient and sustainable supply chains, support strong environmental and social governance outcomes and grow a skilled workforce.
Activities to implement the plan will include high-level meetings, business forums and the commissioning of strategic analysis to map future opportunities for Western Australia and Indonesia to collaborate under the three pillars of cooperation.
With the increasing demand for critical minerals and the large upscaling of battery supply chains required to address climate change, the agreement supports the economic objectives of the two parties and helps them meet their respective industry development and emissions reduction targets.
Western Australia is already a leading supplier of battery and critical minerals. The state accounts for half of global lithium production and is a major exporter of nickel, cobalt, manganese and rare earths, with critical minerals processing and other value-adding industries rapidly emerging.
The signing is part of several official events including an Indonesia-Australia CEO Forum convened for President Widodo who is visiting Sydney with Indonesian ministers and business leaders from 3-5 July.
Mr Cook said he was pleased to meet with the Indonesian President and Ministers as part of a range of official events in Sydney.
“It follows an official mission I undertook to Jakarta last year to grow business and government relationships as well as launch the new global tourism brand in Indonesia,” Mr Cook said.
“Western Australia is already firmly established as a global leader in the supply of critical minerals and rare earths, with lithium hydroxide and other critical minerals processing quickly becoming established in our state.
“We’re committed to growing the state’s participation in global battery and critical mineral supply chains, with a view to further developing our value-adding and manufacturing industries.
“Working with Indonesia, an important trading partner and our closest neighbour to explore partnerships, share information, knowledge and strategies and facilitate business links will fuel our mutual economic growth and green ambitions.”
Industry response
The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia’s Chief Executive, Rebecca Tomkinson, said the signing is another step in strengthening Western Australia’s role in the global transition to net zero.
“The synergies between economic development strategies in Indonesia and those in Western Australia present important opportunities for closer cooperation.
“For example, Indonesia’s industrial down-streaming economic strategy unveiled in August 2021, includes the development of further manufacturing, processing and refining capability to convert locally sourced raw materials (e.g. nickel, bauxite, gold and copper) to semi-finished or finished goods exports, particularly those related to critical and battery minerals,” Ms Tomkinson said.
“Considering the manufacturing sector makes up the largest value of exported goods from Indonesia (representing 71.65 per cent of total export value for January to July 2022 in USD), opportunities may exist for Western Australia to supply critical inputs or secure outputs from the Indonesian market for the down-stream minerals processing and/or manufacturing sectors.
“This will be particularly relevant if Indonesia realises its ambitions to build a Green Industrial Park which will use new renewable energy or green energy to produce green products, and provide opportunities for Western Australian businesses to further decarbonise their supply chains.”
Ms Tomkinson said Western Australia is already a world leading jurisdiction for the upstream production and refining of critical and battery minerals globally, a factor that will continue to increase in importance to Australia’s trade partners, such as Indonesia.
“There is an enormous opportunity for Western Australia to have a world-leading, sustainable, value-adding critical minerals sector, but the window to capitalise on global critical minerals demands and unlock the state’s potential as a major participant in the supply chain is narrow. We must capitalise on the opportunities in front of us right now.”
