Indonesia Committed to Strengthening Strategic Partnership with Australia

Deputy Minister for Investment and Downstreaming, Todotua Pasaribu, has affirmed Indonesia’s commitment to continuously strengthening its strategic partnership with Australia through increased high-quality investment. “Both countries have complementary economies, supported by the increasingly mature Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) framework,” said Deputy Minister Todotua in a statement in Jakarta on Thursday. According to him, Indonesia and Australia are at a very opportune moment because of the complementary economic relationship between the two countries. He stated that through a series of working visits, the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming/Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening the strategic partnership with Australia through increased high-quality investment. Meetings with investors, dialogues with business players, and participation in the Indonesia-Australia Business Summit 2026 are expected to be concrete steps to encourage investment realisation that supports downstream processing, infrastructure development, food security, energy transition, and sustainable economic growth for both nations. “We invite Australian investors to be part of a new chapter in Indonesia’s economic growth through investments oriented towards downstream processing, infrastructure, food security, energy transition, and the green economy,” he said while delivering a keynote speech at the Indonesia-Australia Business Summit (IABS) for Indonesia Updates 2026 in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday. Subsequently, Deputy Minister Todotua held a one-on-one meeting with Pure Battery Technologies (PBT), an Australian battery material processing technology company represented by Chairman Stephen Wilmot. During the meeting, PBT presented its investment plan to build a precursor Cathode Active Material (pCAM) facility in Indonesia as part of strengthening the national battery industry ecosystem. The meeting also discussed collaboration opportunities, investment site readiness, and measures to accelerate project realisation. “Indonesia already has High Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) facilities and will soon have battery cell manufacturing. The remaining links in the chain are pCAM and cathodes. This is where investments like Pure Battery Technologies become crucial to complete a fully integrated battery ecosystem,” he said. Beyond the battery industry sector, Deputy Minister Todotua also met with BCI Minerals to discuss investment opportunities in industrial salt downstream processing. The discussion focused on the potential to meet national raw material needs while encouraging value addition through domestic non-metallic mineral processing. Todotua also stressed the importance of strengthening regional logistics connectivity by optimising the Indonesian Archipelagic Sea Lane (ALKI) II as a strategic route connecting the Pacific and Indian Oceans. He noted that the ALKI II corridor saw trade in iron ore worth A$138 billion, coal worth A$91 billion, and LNG worth A$69 billion pass through it in 2024. “This potential presents a significant opportunity for Indonesia and Australia to strengthen supply chains, logistics, and investment in the region,” he added.