Indonesia, Chile explore green mining and critical minerals ties

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3 hours ago

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister Arif Havas Oegroseno proposed a Green Minerals Partnership Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Indonesia and Chile to strengthen cooperation in the energy and critical minerals sectors.

In a statement received in Jakarta on Monday, the Indonesian Embassy in Santiago noted that the proposed MoU would cover joint industrial projects, a coalition of producing countries, green mining technology, an investment platform, and an ocean-based distribution strategy.

Havas presented the proposal during a bilateral meeting with Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna on the sidelines of the Indonesia-Latin America and the Caribbean Business Mission (INALAC-BM) 2026 in Santiago, Chile, on Thursday (October 1).

Mackenna welcomed the proposal and indicated that he would follow it up at the earliest opportunity. He also expressed interest in BioFarma’s vaccine production capacity and the potential for vaccine procurement for Chile.

Both sides agreed to prioritize the use of the Indonesia-Chile Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IC-CEPA) in the battery and vaccine sectors.

Furthermore, Havas encouraged cooperation in developing battery and electric vehicle ecosystems involving Corporación Nacional del Cobre (Codelco), PT Freeport Indonesia, and INALUM.

Codelco, a Chilean state-owned enterprise, expressed openness to collaborating with Indonesia on research and technology.

Havas also proposed establishing an “Indonesia-Chile Industrial Bridge” in the mining sector involving INALUM, Freeport, Codelco, and Elecmetal, a leading Chilean company.

The collaboration will also involve environmentally friendly management of mineral ore processing waste, or tailings, as well as their further utilization.

Havas also encouraged the exploration of long-term contracts, the participation of Petrobras, Brazil’s state-owned oil and gas company, in Indonesian oil and gas block auctions, and joint ventures in third countries.

The Petrobras representative, who was in Santiago at the time, expressed readiness to collaborate with Pertamina as part of a diversification strategy to navigate the current geopolitical landscape.

On Friday (October 2), Havas visited Puerto San Antonio, Chile’s container port authority, and invited its representatives to Indonesia to meet with experienced port operators and contractors.

Puerto San Antonio is offering Indonesian construction companies opportunities to bid for concessions for container and clean bulk cargo terminals, whose current concessions expire in 2029, as well as a port expansion project involving land reclamation.

The IC-CEPA was signed on December 14, 2017, and implementation began on August 10, 2019.

Under the agreement, 6,704 Indonesian products across the agricultural, fishery, manufacturing, mining, and industrial sectors qualify for zero-percent import tariffs in Chile.

According to data from Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade, total bilateral trade between Indonesia and Chile reached US$535.51 million, marking a 12.40 percent increase from the previous year.

Indonesian products are also becoming increasingly competitive in the Chilean market, particularly in the automotive, fertilizer, and footwear sectors.