Jakarta. Indonesia recently pitched nuclear power-related investment opportunities to the United States as its senior officials had another round of tariff talks on the margins of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur. 

President Prabowo Subianto has flown to the Malaysian capital for the 47th ASEAN Summit that saw the group expanding with Timor-Leste joining in. The same goes for his American counterpart Donald Trump, although he had left the country for Japan. Prabowo’s senior economic affairs minister Airlangga Hartarto, however, managed to meet the US Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth Jacob Helberg in Malaysia.

The Indonesian government reported that the bilateral talks revolved around finalizing the highly anticipated agreement on the US tariff hikes. Airlangga also tried to get Washington to invest more in Indonesia, particularly in high-end semiconductors and small modular reactors. Other sectors that Southeast Asia’s biggest economy offered included artificial intelligence.

"I emphasize that Indonesia is always open to investment opportunities for the US in various strategic sectors that have great potential for collaborative development,” Airlangga said over the weekend, commenting on his meeting with Helberg.

The Indonesian side did not disclose how Helberg responded to the nuclear power investment offer. 

However, Washington has been helping Indonesia to set up a small reactor in a deal that dates back to early 2023.

PLN Indonesia Power, a subsidiary to the state utility firm, had signed a technical assistance contract for a $2.3 million grant from the US Trade and Development Agency that year. The contract sees PLN Indonesia conducting feasibility studies on small modular reactor development in West Kalimantan, using technologies provided by NuScale, a nuclear power company based in Oregon. Just a few weeks ago, Airlangga revealed that Indonesia had already completed the feasibility study. 

A small modular reactor has one-third of the generating capacity of traditional nuclear power facilities.

Jakarta has been trying to finalize a trade pact with Washington. In July, Trump and Prabowo reached a preliminary deal that saw Washington imposing a lower-than-threatened tariff rate of 19 percent on Indonesian goods. In exchange, Prabowo gave his green light to tariff exemptions for Indonesia-bound American products.

The Prabowo government has been persuading the Trump team to exempt key commodities like palm oil from import duties in the final agreement. Airlangga not long ago told reporters that Indonesia expected to wrap up the negotiations by the end of October.

Before heading to Japan, Trump had a working session with ASEAN leaders on Sunday. It was during this time that Trump called Southeast Asia home to “some of America’s most important allies” after thanking Prabowo for helping with his peace efforts in the Middle East. 

“My message to the nations of Southeast Asia is that the US is with you, 100%. We intend to be a strong partner and friend for many generations to come," Trump said.