Jakarta, Oct. 14 -- The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) emphasized that the country's critical mineral resources could be used as leverage in trade negotiations with other nations.

"With our critical minerals, we can use them as a means of negotiation," Kadin Chairman Anindya Bakrie said during the Forbes Global CEO Conference here on Tuesday.

While acknowledging the strategic potential of these resources, Anindya stressed the importance of downstream processing to create greater added value for the national economy.

He recalled that about a decade ago, Indonesia's nickel ore exports generated only around US$1 billion in profits. However, after developing downstream industries to produce stainless steel, profits hav...