Jakarta (ANTARA) - Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia deemed the energy crisis that hit several countries in Europe and China as an opportunity to boost investment into Indonesia.

At a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday, the minister affirmed that the energy crisis had pushed up electricity prices in these countries, so it would certainly have an impact on the production prices.

"The cost of goods sold of a product in that country will increase, and as a result, the product must have a higher cost to be marketed to the people. Hence, now, the strategy that we are building (is based on) our energy oversupply. Data from State Electricity Enterprise (PLN) for Java-Bali regions indicated that we have an oversupply of 2,300 MW. Thus, this is our opportunity to urge companies in those countries to immediately relocate to Indonesia," he emphasized.

By relocating to Indonesia, these countries can cut down their costs, as the electricity price in Indonesia is not as high as the countries affected by the energy crisis. Thus, the production costs are cheaper, and the products are better.

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Furthermore, the minister believes several countries are arrogant about eco-friendly energy. Despite the commendable concept, countries that initially banned the use of coal and fossil energy were now using them again due to the energy crisis, he pointed out.

"Our other allied countries, which are far away, sometimes are pretentious about green energy. Turns out now that countries that say they must not use coal and must not use fossils are having an energy crisis, (so they return to) coal," he affirmed.

The minister emphasized that Indonesia fully supports the idea of environment-friendly energy. Furthermore, Indonesia remains committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, for instance, through the development of electric vehicles.

"Hence, we can actually follow global developments but do not (follow other's pace) too much. Why? We are a sovereign country, but we also encourage the global concept of green energy. That is agreed," he concluded.


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Translator: Ade Irma J, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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