Finland, Indonesia boost energy cooperation

Finland and Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the view to develop technical and economic cooperation between the countries in the energy sector and promote the access of Finnish companies to the Indonesian market.

State Secretary Ann-Mari Kemell and Ego Syahrial, Secretary General of Indonesia’s Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, signed the MoU on Tuesday, said the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment in a press release on Wednesday.

The memorandum was prepared in Finland by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment with the support of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Business Finland.

Finnish energy companies have a strong interest in the Indonesian market. As a large and growing economy, Indonesia has a lot of untapped potential and for many Finnish companies the country is of great importance.

Finland and Indonesia had a bilateral MoU in the energy sector between 2015 and 2020.

A virtual meeting between Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä and Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of Indonesia Arifin Tasrif was held in November 2020, when a decision was made to renew the MoU.

The MoU identifies new cooperation opportunities in clean energy technologies, such as bioenergy, hydrogen and circular economy, as well as in energy efficiency, smart energy solutions and research and development cooperation.

“Finland is strongly committed to diverse and innovative energy cooperation with Indonesia. With this memorandum, we will continue our cooperation with both the authorities and the energy companies,” Kemell said.

“In the energy sector, Finnish companies do not offer only individual products but also complete solutions for increasing people’s wellbeing. We can offer smart and innovative solutions that enable efficient energy use and the use of renewable energy sources,” Kemell added.

Indonesia is one of the world’s largest economies that produces most of its energy from fossil fuels.

In line with its national energy and climate strategy for 2030, Indonesia aims to increase the use of renewable energy so that its share of final energy consumption will increase above 50% towards the end of the 2020s.