TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
I started Freeport talks from nothing, Jonan says in response to ex-minister's claim
Negotiations on the divestment of gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) were dragged into public debate .
Change Size
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
N
egotiations on the divestment of gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI) were dragged into public debate when former energy and mineral resources minister Sudirman Said said a meeting between President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and then-Freeport McMoran (FCX) chairman James Moffet took place in 2015.
Minister Ignasius Jonan said on Wednesday that he had no knowledge of such a meeting, which reportedly pertained to a proposal on Freeport’s contract extension, which according to Sudirman, had received a green light from President Jokowi.
“Maybe there was such a letter, but I don’t know. Even there was, it was irrelevant [to the negotiations],” Jonan said in a press conference at his office in Jakarta. He also said that even if there was a meeting between Jokowi and Moffet, it did not affect negotiations.
Jonan said when he was assigned by Jokowi to continue the negotiations with Freeport in October 2016, old letters and other documents did not serve as references in the negotiations.
He said President Jokowi had given clear instructions to the negotiators, consisting of himself, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno.
“The instructions were clear --- increase ownership to 51 percent, construct smelters, change the contract scheme into a special mining permit and increase state revenue. We now know the results [ of the negotiations],” he added.
He referred to a announcement made by Jokowi on Dec. 21, 2018 that Indonesia had become the majority owner of PTFI after increasing its ownership from 9.36 percent to 51.23 percent through a US$3.85 billion deal.
Jonan said he had never met with Moffet because when the negotiations started, he had already been replaced by Richard Adkerson. According to Jonan, Adkerson had expressed interest in meeting with President Jokowi but the President had not agreed to such a meeting. (bbn)
