INDONESIA has expressed interest in joining Sarawak to explore and mine for minerals and metals along the 1,000km boundary of the Sarawak-Kalimantan border.
Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice chairman Eddy Suryadi said mining companies and industrialists in his country want to work with Sarawak in this venture.
Suryadi was leading a delegation of Indonesian industrialists and business people on a working visit to Kuching. They held meetings with the leaders of the Sarawak Business Federation and the Associations of Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sarawak.
During the meetings, Suryadi said exploring for minerals along the long boundary could yield huge fortunes, benefiting both Indonesia and Sarawak.
"Mining for minerals along the Kalimantan-Sarawak border, opening up the border checkpoints for more cross-border cargo movements, activating direct flights between Kalimantan and Sarawak, and forging other joint business and industrial collaborations were among the key points we discussed.
"There is huge potential for mutual development as the new capital Nusantara (in west Kalimantan) is being constructed rapidly," he said.
Suryad said Kalimantan and Sarawak have agreed to look into setting up a joint committee to handle cross-border issues along the boundary.
The Sarawak government had announced that it will carry out a full geological mapping of Sarawak in search of more precious minerals, after discovering about RM1.25 trillion worth of gold, rare earth, and other precious metals and mineral in 32% of the land that has been mapped.
Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan said he had informed Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof about the state decision to seek funding from Putrajaya for the mission.
"We will carry out geological mapping of the entire state of Sarawak." he said. – July 5, 2024.
