Jakarta. Indonesia and Singapore have been in talks for solar panel industry cooperation, but the former is adamant about a “win-win” partnership, according to Chief Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.

By win-win, Indonesia has to build an end-to-end solar panel industry in its very own country before exporting to Singapore.

Luhut said Singapore initially asked Indonesia to export electricity alone. However, having an entire production chain could mutually benefit both nations.

"We must make it an end-to-end [solar panel industry],” Luhut told the 2023 DBS Asian Insights Forum in Jakarta on Wednesday.

“We have the raw materials, silica. So we can produce solar panels, batteries, and everything else in Indonesia. Then we can discuss investing together with Singapore. It cannot simply be [them telling us] ‘you export to me’. I already told my Singaporean counterpart that [the partnership] has to be equal. That is the Indonesian government's stance,” he said.

Read More: Kalimantan Industrial Park to Produce EV Batteries, Petrochemical

Luhut said that the entire ecosystem of solar panels could take up to $50 billion in investment.

“We are about to finalize the [solar panel cooperation] tomorrow,” Luhut added, alluding to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s upcoming visit to Singapore.

News outlet Antara reported earlier this week that the partnership with Singapore was expected to become a boon for the Kalimantan Industrial Park Indonesia (KIPI), which Jokowi claimed to be the world’s largest green industrial park.

Jokowi will meet Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the leaders' retreat in Singapore on Thursday.

According to the Singaporean prime minister's office, the two leaders will review the progress since the last retreat in 2022. They will also witness the exchange of several memorandums of understanding inked ahead of the retreat, including in emerging areas such as energy.

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