Indonesia, UAE sign many economic cooperation deals

Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recently signed many cooperation and business agreements in the fields of energy, agriculture and sovereign wealth fund (SWF).

Indonesian Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan attends a meeting with his counterpart in the United Arab Emirates (Source: Antara)
Indonesian Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan attends a meeting with his counterpart in the United Arab Emirates (Source: Antara)
The deals were signed by Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan and the UAE’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi.
In a written statement, Pandjaitan said this was the initial preparation for President Joko Widodo’s state visit to the UAE in January 2020, noting that it was also to ensure the government-to-government cooperation scheme and business agreements have been conveyed and run well.
The two countries have explored plans to establish SWF of up to US$10 billion since September to finance infrastructure projects in this biggest economy of Southeast Asia.
Last week, Pandjaiatan said $137 billion worth of investment is in the pipeline for infrastructure projects across Indonesia.
Indonesia is currently also in the process of compiling an Omnibus Law to provide legal certainty for the SWF, he noted, adding the countries are also preparing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to support infrastructure development in Indonesia, where the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority will be an important partner.
In petrochemicals and petroleum sectors, the agreed cooperation agreements include the MoU of state-own oil company PT Pertamina and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) for the development of a refinery in Balongan, then Pertamina and Mubadala for the development of a refinery in Balikpapan.
Some of the others were between state-owned electricity company PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara and Masdar for the construction of a floating solar panel, between state-owned mining holding PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) and EGA for the development of an aluminum plant and a hydropower plant in North Kalimantan, and a long-term contract between PT Chandra Asri Petrochemical Tbk and ADNOC.
The two countries also inked an agreement in agriculture that will be carried out in West Java and Central Kalimantan provinces, as well as an MoU between DP World and Maspion for an integrated industrial area.

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