Visa and minerals wins for Indonesia
Business visas and critical minerals dominated official talks between Anthony Albanese and Indonesian president Joko Widodo in Sydney.
Indonesians will gain easier access to business visas, while the country’s employers will benefit from a deal covering Australian critical minerals and green energy funding that Anthony Albanese and President Joko Widodo said took the diplomatic relationship “up another gear”.
The Prime Minister hosted Mr Joko in Sydney on Tuesday, and the leaders agreed to forge deeper connections through business, education, security and tackling climate change.
Mr Albanese said business visas for Indonesians would be extended from three to five years to “support our expanding business and commercial links”.
Indonesian e-passport holders will be prioritised at airports and be able to apply for a 10-year “frequent travellers visa”.
“This offers a 10-year visa validity making enormous difference in removing bureaucratic impediments to our closer relationship,” the Prime Minister said.
Mr Albanese and Mr Joko had lunch at Admiralty House with Peter Dutton, Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Industry Minister Ed Husic, West Australian Premier Roger Cook, Governor-General David Hurley and senior business figures.
They also caught a ferry to Taronga Zoo to visit a Sumatran tiger exhibit.
Speaking in Sydney after official talks, the Prime Minister praised Indonesia and its President as one of “the major economies and leaders of the world”, and flagged closer collaboration to combat “difficult” geopolitical circumstances.
“We recognise the importance of Indonesia’s territorial integrity and your sovereignty as a nation,” Mr Albanese said.
“And we respect that, and we work with you on a range of issues covering the difficult geopolitical circumstances of our time.”
Mr Albanese said the two countries would work closely together in the global fight against climate change, including a greater emphasis on critical minerals and the development of electric vehicles. He said the government would provide $50m in funding to invest in “clean energy-focused” Indonesian start-ups and small businesses. “The discussions we've had about co-operating on areas such as climate change, lowering emissions … and that includes the transition that the world is seeing towards greater use of electric vehicles and the opportunity that we have there on critical minerals and other areas,” Mr Albanese said.
Indonesia has been eager to forge a partnership with Australia to develop an electric vehicle industry and harness Australia’s abundance of critical minerals used to make batteries.
The Southeast Asian nation is a major producer of nickel but does not produce other critical minerals such as lithium required to manufacture batteries. Mr Cook and Indonesia’s peak business group signed a new agreement on critical minerals and battery production during the official visit.
Mr Joko on Tuesday emphasised the importance of future collaboration on electric vehicles, carbon capture and storage, and fisheries agreements. “Indonesia and Australia must build a more substantial and strategic economic co-operation through the joint production of EV batteries.”
Amid deepening economic ties, the two nations also agreed to co-operate in education, with three Australian universities flagging their intention to open campuses in the Southeast Asian nation.
Western Sydney University, Deakin University and Central Queensland University are looking to opening campuses in Indonesia, joining Monash University, which expanded there last year.
Deakin vice-chancellor Iain Martin said the proposed campus was a milestone for the institution given Indonesia’s rapid global growth.
“Indonesia will make great strides as a global economy in the next few decades and, as a near neighbour of Australia, there is high potential for mutually beneficial collaboration,” he said. “Once approved, the education offerings will enable students to experience two global universities.”
While official talks did not lead to any defence announcements, the leaders affirmed their commitment to global non-proliferation following Indonesia’s concerns over Australia’s acquisition of nuclear submarines. Mr Albanese said Mr Joko had been an important figure in maintaining regional security. “All countries in the region, large and small, have a collective responsibility to help keep the region peaceful,” he said.
Ahead of the three-year anniversary on Wednesday of Australia’s free-trade agreement with Indonesia, Mr Albanese said trade between the nations had recovered from the pandemic to reach a record $23.3bn last year.
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