The Indonesian government has officially established a strategic cooperation with India to accelerate the development of the rare earth industry. The agreement was marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) involving the Non-Ferrous Materials Technology Development Centre (NFTDC) and Midwest Ltd. from the Indian side, as well as PT Perusahaan Mineral Nasional (Perminas) from the Indonesian side.
The signing ceremony took place solemnly at Merdeka Palace on Tuesday (7/7/2026), witnessed directly by President Prabowo Subianto and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This initiative marks a concrete step in the government's efforts to strengthen the downstreaming of critical minerals within the country.
Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology, Brian Yuliarto, revealed that this collaboration focuses on mastering rare earth separation and refining technologies. He expressed optimism that India's technological expertise can be adapted to accelerate the independence of Indonesia's strategic industries, including plans to construct processing plants and magnet production facilities in the country.
The technical discussions for this cooperation previously involved teams from Perminas and the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), who conducted intensive studies in India. This strategic step is expected to curb raw material exports while providing greater economic added value for Indonesia amid high global demand for critical minerals essential to low-carbon technologies, such as electric vehicle batteries and solar panels.
