Nurul Ichwan, the ministry’s deputy chair for investment promotion, said the absence of US EV firms did not mean they had no interest in investing in Indonesia.

It was instead that those firms preferred to have sources of nickel that were closer to home and that Canadian supplies of the mineral were sufficient for their needs.

Nickel is an essential component for the manufacture of EV batteries.

"That's why we should have something that makes our nickel industry more competitive," Nurul said at an online webinar on the US' “friendshoring” initiative, through which the country is seeking to favor its allies in investment, manufacturing and trade deals.

Read also: B20 wraps up with deals on green energy, EV

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Nurul added that Indonesia could still play an important role as an EV production hub for Southeast Asia. This could be a way to entice US EV firms to set up their production facilities in Indonesia as they sought to expand their markets, he said.

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