President Jokowi, Elon Musk Meeting Scheduled Amid U.S. Visit

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, according to a statement by coordinating minister of maritime affairs and investments Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, is scheduled to meet Tesla CEO Elon Musk during his visit to the United States on May 10. 

Jokowi’s departure to the U.S. is initially to attend the US-ASEAN special summit held at the capital city of Washington D.C. 

Minister Pandjaitan elaborated on Monday that the President’s meeting with Elon will mostly comprise talks about accelerating the development of Indonesia’s nickel industry and its aim to supply batteries for electric vehicles. 

“Yes, they will both meet. We are currently setting up the schedule and its location,” said Luhut Pandjaitan in a press conference at the Presidential offices on May 9. 

He added that there is currently a team from Tesla that is in Indonesia and will pay a visit to Indonesia’s nickel production hub located in Morowali, Central Sulawesi. “The team will conduct a field observation of Morowali. They are greatly satisfied with the data provided to them so far,” he claims. 

Earlier last month, Luhut Pandjaitan met with Elon Musk in a meeting that had talked about the potential of Indonesia supplying batteries for the production of electric vehicles. The minister claims Musk showed interest in an official partnership between Tesla and the Indonesian government. 

Read: Elon Musk Interested in Potential of Indonesia's Nickel Industry: Luhut

DICKY KURNIAWAN