Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia has invited Canada to collaborate with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to develop an electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem in the region. Speaking at a seminar in Jakarta on Friday, director general for ASEAN cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sidharto Surdyodipuro, said that Canada has significant potential in the area of energy transition, which could make Southeast Asia remain an epicenter of economic growth.
"It (Canada) has abundant resources in critical minerals, such as cobalt and lithium. Canada can support and collaborate in the region in developing certain fields such as the electric vehicle ecosystem that we, ASEAN, are pursuing as well as (support) renewable energy," he added at the seminar, which was also attended by the Ambassador of Canada to Indonesia Nadia Burger.
Suryodipuro had earlier said that ASEAN member states are in talks for developing a regional ecosystem of electric vehicles. According to him, Indonesia and other countries in the region share a common understanding on that matter.
"How we can create a regional (EV) ecosystem that adopts the same or at least similar regulations? So every producer has a regional outlook and is not only focusing on the domestic (market),” he said.
Indonesia has a comparative advantage, or possibly a competitive advantage, in the electric vehicle field, he added. As one of the world’s largest economies, Southeast Asia should set its own standards for EVs, he said.
"EV producers such as China, South Korea, and the US have different standards. But, what if Southeast Asia creates its own standards that other (countries) will also follow? We are optimistic that ASEAN can be the region to set a standard," he told the forum.
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ASEAN foreign ministers gathered in Jakarta earlier this month to discuss the priorities of Indonesia's chairmanship of the ASEAN this year. Indonesia has proposed four main aspects under its “epicentrum of growth” pillar, one of which is energy security.
“Indonesia will propose an outcome that will attain the ASEAN region as the epicentrum of growth. Four main aspects that will be our focus (include) ensuring energy security to support the transition from fossil energy to clean and renewable energy, among others, by developing a regional electric vehicle ecosystem,” Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said at the 32nd ASEAN Coordinating Council (ACC) meeting earlier this month.
