Key facts
- India and Indonesia signed a bilateral minerals and steel technology pact
- Indonesia is a major global producer of nickel, key for steel and EV batteries
- Deal supports India's strategy to diversify critical mineral supply chains
- Pact aligns with India's Make in India and EV manufacturing ambitions
India and Indonesia have inked a cooperation agreement covering minerals and steel supply chain technology, a move that deepens industrial ties between two of Asia's largest emerging economies and reflects both countries' ambitions to capture more value from their natural resource and manufacturing sectors.
The pact is strategically significant for India, which is seeking to reduce dependence on Chinese-controlled supply chains for critical minerals even as it scales up domestic steel production and pursues an ambitious EV manufacturing roadmap. Indonesia, meanwhile, holds some of the world's largest reserves of nickel — a mineral essential both for high-grade steel and for lithium-ion battery cathodes.
The agreement is in line with a broader pattern of India diversifying its resource and technology partnerships, having already signed critical mineral deals with Australia, Argentina and several African nations in recent years. A partnership with Indonesia adds another node to this supply chain strategy, particularly given Jakarta's own push to process raw minerals domestically rather than export them unrefined.
For India's steel industry and EV sector, access to Indonesian minerals and collaboration on supply chain technology could help stabilise input costs and support the government's Make in India and Production-Linked Incentive objectives. Analysts will watch for the specific terms and follow-through as the two governments move from signing to implementation.