Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar Alkhorayef, signed today in Jakarta a memorandum of understanding with Indonesia’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Bahlil Lahadalia, to boost strategic cooperation and facilitate the exchange of expertise between the two countries in the mining and minerals sector.
The MoU aims to transfer knowledge in the field of mining, mineral production and processing, mining exploration, geological surveys and sustainable mining practices.
The signing took place during Alkhorayef’s official visit to Indonesia, where he is leading a high-level delegation from the industry and mining sector to strengthen economic ties, attract quality investments to Saudi Arabia, and explore mutual investment opportunities across the mining, food, pharmaceuticals and automotive sectors.
Saudi Arabia, Indonesia explore industrial investments
During his visit to Indonesia, Alkhorayef also met with Indonesian Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita in Jakarta to discuss fostering deeper economic collaboration and exploring mutually beneficial investment opportunities in the industrial sector. The ministers discussed strengthening the longstanding trade ties between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. Both nations share similar industrial growth objectives, including attracting foreign investment and developing their downstream industries.
“We see great opportunities in industry and mining, where the two countries can complement each other and learn from each other’s experience,” the minister stated after a meeting with several representatives of the Indonesian government at the Saudi Arabian Ambassador’s Residence.
Alkhorayef emphasized Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the National Industrial Strategy, and other initiatives designed to support growth in Saudi Arabia’s industrial sector. He also highlighted the Kingdom’s pursuit of developing key industrial clusters, pointing to the enablers and incentives offered by the Kingdom to investors and the unique opportunities available for Indonesian businesses to establish and expand their investments in the Kingdom.
The meeting concluded with an invitation to the Indonesian minister of industry to attend the Future Minerals Forum (FMF). Taking place in Riyadh, the global platform brings together governments, investors and mining industry leaders to shape the future of the global minerals sector. Indonesia’s attendance would provide the opportunity to build on existing relations between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia in the critical minerals sectors.
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Trade, investment ties to grow
In addition to intensifying cooperation in the industrial and mining sectors, Alkhorayef expressed hope to jointly develop supply chains to access new markets, especially in the Middle East and Africa. He also remarked that expanding the cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia aims to increase the trade value between the two countries.
Alkhorayef also emphasized the importance of looking at investment opportunities in both countries, stating, “We see great potential to work together for joint investments in both countries and maybe outside.”
In a bid to foster trade between the two countries, the Saudi Export-Import Bank (Saudi EXIM) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indonesia Eximbank to establish guiding principles for strengthening cooperation and trade.
The agreement outlines multiple areas of cooperation, including encouraging business engagement between Saudi and Indonesian companies, exploring opportunities to support joint projects, promoting the exchange of information and best practices related to export credit policies, and collaborating on the development of new export products.
During the visit, Saudi EXIM also held several meetings with representatives from export credit agencies, financial institutions and trade organizations in Indonesia to expand trade prospects, strengthen economic cooperation and support local exporters in scaling their international operations, thereby enhancing the global reach of Saudi non-oil exports.
