JAKARTA, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia will appeal to the World Trade Organization's (WTO) ruling on a nickel ore trade dispute, in which the European Union sued Indonesia over its nickel ore export ban, President Joko Widodo said on Wednesday.

Indonesia issued a ban on nickel ore exports in 2020 for a downstream development program that provides more jobs and welfare for its people.

Regarding the export ban, the European Union filed a lawsuit and the WTO dispute settlement body ruled that Indonesia had violated the regulations.

"It doesn't matter that we lost, I have conveyed it to the minister for an appeal," Widodo said at an investment meeting in the national capital Jakarta.

To boost Indonesia's economic growth, the Indonesian government has made three economic strategies: the green economy, the digitalization of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and the development of downstream industries.

As stated by the Minister of Investment Bahlil Lahadalia, Indonesia should focus on processing commodities into ready-to-use products, starting from nickel.

According to the Ministry of Investment, Indonesia possesses 21 million tons of nickel, the largest reserve in the world. Downstream raw nickel into products such as electric car batteries will add value to the commodity and stimulate economic growth.

Widodo said Indonesia will expand the downstream policy, not only for nickel but also for other commodities such as bauxite and coffee, and his government is looking for investors to support those programs.

The country only earned around 1.1 billion U.S. dollars from sales of the nickel sector years ago, but the number multiplied to 20.8 billion dollars in 2021, supported by the downstream policy, triggering a trade balance surplus for months. Enditem

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