RI geothermal investment opportunities offered to NZ

Antara news, Saturday, November 14, 2009 22:03 WIB

Singapore (ANTARA News) - Indonesia has offered investment opportunities in the geothermal field to New Zealand to develop environmentally-friendly energy based on the "green growth" principle.

Industry Minister MS Hidayat said here on Saturday that the offer was made at a bilateral meeting between Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key at the Gemini Room of the Marina Mandarin Hotel in Singapore in the run-up to the 17th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

"New Zealand has geothermal technology and therefore we discussed it with Prime Minister John Key," Hidayat said after accompanying President Yudhoyono at the bilateral meeting.

He said that after the meeting with John Key, President Yudhoyono gave directives to related ministers to emphasize on several cooperations with various countries, including New Zealand, which has competence in the geothermal energy field.

"We offered geothermal investment opportunities to New Zealand," Hidayat said, adding that to develop geothermal energy, the government should immediately issue a relevant pricing policy so that the investors who had interest in it could calculate the continuation of the investment in that field.

"If the price is commercially reasonable, the investors can continue to invest but if it isn`t, they would not dare to do so," Hidayat said.

Asked about New Zealand`s reaction to the offer, Hidayat said Prime Minister John Key asked Indonesia to decide the kind of geothermal development and then the New Zealand government would encourage private parties in the country to explore it in Indonesia.

"We have yet to touch on the value because we have yet to offer it specifically. We only said we want investment in the geothermal sector," Hidayat said, adding that a similar offer was also made to Japan.

Besides having bilateral talks with the New Zealand prime minister, President Yudhoyono had made a series of bilateral meetings with several heads of state/government, among others with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Chinese President Hu Jintao, and Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare.

In the meeting with the New Zealand prime minister, President Yudhoyono was accompanied by among others Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa, Coordinating Minister for Economy Hatta Radjasa, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu, Industry Minister M Hidayat, and presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal.