President Jokowi to meet Elon Musk in Bali: Minister

Rabu, 15 Mei 2024 13:58 WIB

Archive - Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin (left) and Elon Musk (right) to explore the possibility of cooperation between Indonesia and Starlink in providing internet access for health centers located in disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost (3T) regions. (ANTARA/HO-Kemenkes)

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Communication and Informatics Minister Budi Arie Setiadi stated that President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) will meet Elon Musk during the 10th World Water Forum (WWF) in Bali.

"He (Elon Musk) wants to meet the president in Bali," Setiadi remarked when met after the opening of the 11th National Conference of the Indonesian Telematics Society (MASTEL) here on Wednesday.

However, Minister Setiadi did not divulge details regarding the issues that the president will discuss with the owner of the Starlink satellite network.

"Let us wait for the president's conversation with Elon Musk, that it's if he is there," he noted.

Setiadi said that the Communication and Informatics Ministry will discuss further about opportunities for potential cooperation between the Indonesian government and Starlink services in a future working meeting.

"We will also discuss about Starlink in a working meeting in Bogor, West Java, either it is about our sovereignty, whether Starlink is beneficial, or how we should protect our ecosystem," he stated.

In a previous report, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan revealed that President Jokowi and Elon Musk will launch the Starlink service in Indonesia during the 10th WWF in Nusa Dua, Bali.

"The president and Elon Musk will inaugurate Starlink that will facilitate communication in remote areas. This will be done on Sunday (May 19)," he stated in Bali on Thursday, May 14.

Pandjaitan confirmed that Elon Musk will be present in Bali as one of the speakers at the 10th WWF.

"Musk is invited as a public speaker at the opening of the 10th World Water Forum," he remarked.

Currently, Starlink licensing status in Indonesia is said to have met the operating feasibility test, which means the company already has a license as a telecommunications operator in Indonesia.