By John Ikani
Nations in Africa are preparing to finalize deals valued at $3.5 billion with Indonesia at the ongoing Indonesia-Africa summit, a high-ranking diplomat shared with Bloomberg.
The agreements will be officially revealed at the Indonesia-Africa Forum, taking place in Bali until Tuesday, as stated by Vice Foreign Affairs Minister Pahala Mansury in a recent interview.
He highlighted that the expected $3.5 billion in deals marks a substantial increase from the roughly $600 million in agreements made during the forum’s first meeting in 2018.
A major partnership involves Indonesian utility PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara and Tanzania Electric Supply Co. Ltd. working together on geothermal energy development.
Furthermore, PT Bio Farma and Ghana’s Atlantic Lifesciences Ltd. have committed to collaborate on health technology transfer, as per a foreign affairs ministry announcement on Sunday.
The ministry also hinted at Congo and Senegal’s potential interest in acquiring and maintaining aircraft from PT Dirgantara Indonesia.
Vice Foreign Affairs Minister Pahala Mansury emphasized, “Indonesia will need to work with Africa because not all of the critical minerals that are required to produce battery materials are available in Indonesia.”
He added, “Amid geopolitical tensions between economic superpowers, this is a very good opportunity for Global South countries to work together rather than treat each other as a competitor.”
In a separate development, PT Pertamina’s President Director Nicke Widyawati revealed the company is exploring possibilities with Guma Group Ltd. to build a power plant in South Africa, fueled by gas from Mozambique, as reported by the local media outlet Bisnis.
Indonesia has a long-standing goal of diversifying its trade partnerships beyond its primary partners like China, the US, and Japan. This has become increasingly crucial as Indonesia faces challenges from a slowing Chinese economy, weak commodity prices, and increasing protectionism, all hindering the country’s export sector.
In 2023, Africa represented only $6.9 billion of Indonesia’s exports, less than 3% of the total. Resource-rich Africa is also set to play a vital role in Indonesia’s ambition to use its abundant nickel reserves to become a major battery production center.
With the United States and the European Union imposing tariffs on China-made electric vehicles, disrupting carmakers’ production plans, Indonesia and Africa have an opportunity to work together in building a stronger global supply chain for batteries, according to the diplomat.
