Investment proposals and an existing agreement
Indonesia's Deputy Minister of Environment Diaz Hendropriyono held the talks with UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail Mohamed Al Mazroui. UAE Ambassador to Indonesia Abdulla Salem Al Dhaheri also attended, ANTARA reported.
Hendropriyono called for investment in environmental infrastructure and wider adoption of advanced technology. International financing and technology, he said, could improve the efficiency and effectiveness of conservation work and help Indonesia develop technology-based environmental projects more quickly.
"We welcome this cooperation initiative as a significant step toward improving Indonesia's environmental quality," he said. He identified investment in waste management, climate change mitigation and environmental education as essential to greater sustainability.
His invitation to UAE officials and businesses covered waste management and carbon credit initiatives. He also emphasized business compliance with environmental protection rules and lasting improvements in environmental performance.
Mazroui voiced support for Indonesian sustainability projects, including waste-to-energy initiatives. To attract investors from the UAE and elsewhere, he recommended preparing detailed project management plans that set out investment costs and prospective returns. He also suggested using structured corporate social responsibility programs to finance environmental work.
The talks built on an environmental agreement signed in Bali on November 14, 2022. Its scope covers integrated, innovative waste management; climate change mitigation and adaptation; and stronger communication, information sharing and environmental education.
Waste-management partnerships in 2025
A waste-management partnership launched at the World Governments Summit in Dubai on February 12, 2025, included Clean Rivers' support for Project STOP Banyuwangi Hijau. According to a Project STOP release published by Borealis, that funding is part of the UAE's $20 million commitment to waste-management and cleanup projects in Indonesia.
The partnership operates under a memorandum of understanding between the UAE's Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and Indonesia's Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment. The announcement also cited two existing areas of environmental cooperation: the Mangrove Alliance for Climate and the Mohamed bin Zayed-Joko Widodo International Mangrove Research Center.
By mid-2025, a joint Indonesia-UAE effort to reduce plastic pollution in rivers was underway, with Surabaya, East Java, serving as its pilot site, The Jakarta Post reported. The first phase targets plastic waste entering Indonesia's marine waters. UNDP Indonesia and Abu Dhabi-based Clean Rivers Ltd. are implementing that phase under a program scheduled to run for three years beginning in early 2025.
Energy proposals and wider investment
On February 20, 2025, Indonesia's National Economic Council head Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said the UAE had announced its intention to invest $10 billion in Danantara, Indonesia's sovereign wealth fund. He said Mazroui had proposed a joint venture to develop a renewable energy power plant with a capacity of 10 gigawatts.
Separately, figures from Indonesia's Ministry of Investment showed UAE investment in the country at $88.14 million as of the third quarter of 2025, compared with $32.73 million recorded in 2024, according to ANTARA. The investments covered electricity, gas and water; machinery and electronics; paper manufacturing; chemicals and pharmaceuticals; hotels and restaurants; and mining.
Cooperation during the 50th-anniversary year
On January 14, 2026, Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan met Mazroui in Abu Dhabi to identify concrete projects the countries could advance. Mazroui was also serving as the UAE's Special Envoy to Indonesia. The discussions covered oil and gas investment, waste-to-energy development and data centers ahead of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2026, ANTARA reported.
By April 2026, UAE renewable energy company Masdar had been involved in developing and managing the Cirata Floating Solar Power Plant in West Java. According to ANTARA, the 192-megawatt-peak facility was projected to become the world's largest of its kind, and the UAE had committed to investing in its expansion.
