Jakarta, CNN Indonesia – President Joko Widodo does not want Indonesia to lose the opportunity of the boom in mineral and coal commodity prices that has occurred in recent times. A number of parties estimate that in the future, commodity prices will continue to rise.
“In the past there was an oil boom, we lost, there was a timber boom, we lost. This time mineral and coal must be our foundation in order to advance our country, Indonesia,” said Jokowi at the Presidential Briefing event to PPSA XXIII Participants of the National Resilience Institute in State Palace, Wednesday (13/10).
For that, he continued, the government has set a strategy so that Indonesia can get higher economic benefits from the boom in mineral and coal prices. One of them is by imposing a ban on the export of raw minerals, such as nickel ore and bauxite.
“Don’t lose our chance again. Don’t export nickel in the form of raw materials. I have conveyed it and we will stop exporting raw materials,” he said.
Mineral commodities must now be processed domestically through refining facilities or smelters in order to have added value. He said his policy was unanimous and could not be changed again even though Indonesia received opposition from countries in the world through the World Trade Organizations (WTO).
“Even though we are being sued at the WTO, it’s okay, our nickels are our goods, we make the factories here, the goods here, that’s our right. The opportunity comes again and it doesn’t come twice. This is our chance,” he said.
If sued, he admits that he is ready to respond to the various lawsuits by sending Indonesia’s best international-class lawyers to the WTO.
“Yes, we just have to prepare an international class lawyer so we don’t lose. This is what we are all preparing in the process to integrate what we aspire to,” he concluded.