Not Only the US, India to Enter Indonesia to Develop World-Sought Critical Minerals
The Indonesian government is establishing cooperation with India in critical mineral development and facilities to support steel production.
This was revealed by Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Yuliot Tanjung following his meeting with Sandeep Poundrik, Secretary of India’s Ministry of Steel, earlier.
Yuliot stated that this step aims to strengthen national energy resilience whilst opening opportunities for sustainable investment that provides long-term economic benefits.
The meeting discussed plans for drafting a memorandum of understanding (MoU) as an umbrella framework for bilateral cooperation. Once both countries agree, it will be signed at ministerial level.
“We discussed many aspects. One of the things they asked about is how to enhance cooperation, which will be reflected in the form of an agreement or cooperation MoU,” said Yuliot when met at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry office in Jakarta on Friday (27 February 2026).
Yuliot said that in the MoU, the Indian government will encourage its companies to invest in Indonesia, particularly in the metals industry sector.
“So the cooperation is that India will also encourage Indian companies to invest in Indonesia, especially in the metals industry,” said Yuliot.
Additionally, both countries will explore continuing development from the metals industry into equipment and capital goods that can be jointly produced.
“Then on the utilisation side, there is also further downstream processing of the metals industry for equipment or capital goods industries that could be jointly developed,” he added.
The final discussion, according to Yuliot, involves cooperation on developing capital goods through more efficient research and innovation.
“India will submit a draft MoU which we will also consult on with the Foreign Ministry regarding the MoU framework to be discussed and subsequently followed up with ministerial-level signing between the Energy and Mineral Resources Minister and India’s Steel Minister,” he explained.