Jakarta (VNA) -  The Indonesian and Australian governments have inked a memorandum of understanding(MoU) on the establishment of a bilateral mechanism to promote their electricvehicle (EV) collaboration.

The MoU was signed by Indonesian ad interimCoordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Erick Thohir, andAustralian Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic, in Jakarta.

Speaking atthe signing ceremony, Thohir affirmed that Indonesia andAustralia not only have close geopolitical ties, but both also have abundantmineral resources, as well as the opportunity to become key players in theglobal EV supply chain.

The MoU signing was a follow-up to a commitmentto advance cooperation in the EV industry, which was announced by theIndonesian President and the Australian PM at the recent Indonesia-Australia Annual Leaders' Meeting.

According to Thohir, Indonesia has developed the nickel downstreamindustry toward the EV ecosystem in the last five years.

There are three factories in Indonesia that areoperating to produce mixed hydroxide precipitate, the basic material forbattery precursors.

Several battery manufacturing projects areexpected to start in the next few years, the minister noted, expressing thebelief that this MoU can be a milestone for real collaboration to achieve thisshared ambition./.