INDONESIA MINISTER VISITS AAAE

Dr Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno was on-site at the Expo investigating partnership opportunities

The Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) was honoured that the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia, Dr Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, took time out of his busy schedule while in Melbourne to visit the Indonesian Pavilion organised by the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia and Indonesian trade representatives in Australia at the Australian Auto Aftermarket Expo (AAAE).
In speaking with Australian Aftermarket Magazine, Dr Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno explained that Indonesia is keenly focused on the area of electric vehicles and renewable energy currently.
“We are moving very rapidly into transitioning and pivoting to electric vehicles and eco systems and the supply chain from the raw materials for batteries; we have potentials all the way to the manufacturing,” Dr Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno said.
“We are now having a lot of progress on electric motorcycles, and we are going to elevate that to four wheelers and also trucks and heavy equipment.
“That is on the transportation side; on the energy generation side, the renewable energies, like neo thermals, wind, solar and also hydro plant, is really a huge area of focus. We are transitioning from fossil, hydrocarbon-based energy generators to more friendly and renewable energy.
“We believe that our visions of making Bali only sell electric vehicles starting in 2030 will yield much faster conversion. I am now only using electric vehicles when I am in Bali.
“More sustainable tourism will invite a lot of investments in the electric vehicles and electric mobility in general.”
Dr Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno said he sees a lot of opportunities for Australia and Indonesia to work together in this space.
“Australia has definitely strength in the technology part and the digital space, and we have the combined market of almost 300 million,” Dr Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno said.
“We have the young demography, and I guess there is a lot of collaboration to create new jobs, and better-quality jobs, in the areas of new economy.
“Post COVID there will be new economy that is focused on sustainability, and, in the past, we used to compete a lot, but now I think we need to pivot to collaborate, to have more collaborations and joint investments.
“In the past Australian investors have come and invested in natural resources to export but now we invite Australian investors to invest in Indonesia not just to export, but also to develop local know how, technology transfers, knowledge transfers and also develop the market together so we can have a much higher value added.
“I came (to the Expo) to support this country as an invitation for local businesses who want to open up market in Australia and other parts of the world.
“Obviously small companies are local champions and government needs to be present and assist in opening up international markets. I want to acknowledge the key roles played by my colleague, the Minister of Trade of Indonesia and his team, in promoting trade with Indonesia.
“We also are here to ensure that the bilateral trade, investment and tourism comprehensive partnership between Australia and Indonesia will continue to increase in the future.”

For more information, visit www.kemlu.go.id/canberra/en