Kadin Confident RI-Philippines Mineral Cooperation Will Strengthen Supply Chain
In line with this year’s ASEAN Philippines theme, Navigating Our Future, Together, the high-level forum between Kadin Indonesia and PCCI has laid out a roadmap not only for bilateral cooperation but also to make the ASEAN region more prepared to face current geoeconomic realities.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) is confident that strategic cooperation between Indonesia and the Philippines in the critical minerals sector will strengthen the regional supply chain, while also enhancing the positions of both countries.
Vice Chairman of Kadin Indonesia for Foreign Relations, Bernardino Moningka Vega, stated in an official release received in Jakarta on Saturday that the cooperation to strengthen the critical minerals supply chain under the Indonesia-Philippines Nickel Corridor initiative serves as a new model for regional economic cooperation that not only focuses on commodity trade but also on building a stronger industrial value chain.
The initiative was highlighted at the Indonesia-Philippines High Level Business Roundtable forum organised by Kadin Indonesia together with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) in Cebu, Philippines, coinciding with the official visit of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto to the Philippines for the 48th ASEAN Summit.
“In line with this year’s ASEAN Philippines theme, Navigating Our Future, Together, the high-level Kadin Indonesia-PCCI forum has laid out a roadmap not only for bilateral cooperation but also to make the ASEAN region more prepared to face current geoeconomic realities,” said Bernardino.
In 2025, Indonesia is recorded to produce around 2.6 million metric tons of nickel, while the Philippines reaches around 270,000 metric tons.
Based on estimates from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) for 2025, the two countries together contribute around 73.6 percent of global nickel mine production.
In terms of reserves, Indonesia is estimated to have around 62 million metric tons of nickel reserves, while the Philippines has around 4.8 million metric tons.
Meanwhile, for the Philippines, this collaboration opens opportunities to increase industrial value added through regional processing and investment.
In addition to strengthening cooperation in the nickel sector, the forum also resulted in several other agreements, including strategic cooperation between chambers of commerce, agricultural technology collaboration, and aviation cooperation between Garuda Maintenance Facility and JAR Aviation Services with an indicative value of up to 80 million US dollars.
The forum also announced plans for the development of a nickel processing facility in the Philippines by Agro Investama Group together with RBN Solutions Inc. and Ploutus Inc.
Meanwhile, PCCI President Ferdinand Ferrer added that this cooperation is an initial step to build more integrated critical minerals industry relations, especially nickel, between Indonesia and the Philippines.
“ASEAN will be strongest when acting as one unit. And the core of this unity is strong bilateral relations between Indonesia and the Philippines, with a total population of nearly 400 million people,” Ferrer concluded.