With Final Stop in Indonesia, Secretary Locke Completes Clean Energy Trade Mission

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke wrapped up the final day of his clean energy trade mission in Jakarta, Indonesia Wednesday. While in Jakarta, Locke and representatives from 10 U.S. clean energy companies participated in several group meetings about clean energy with Indonesian officials and business representatives and received updates on the market from local executives working in the energy field. At the University of Indonesia, Locke participated in a discussion with students highlighting the importance of innovation in creating new clean energy technologies. He also addressed the American Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia and visited the Port of Jakarta to witness the signing of an ocean exploration agreement.

“This effort is not limited to one country; both Indonesia and the United States can benefit from cooperating on clean energy development,” Locke said during his town hall meeting with students. “The United States, Indonesia and the entire world are counting on bright, motivated people like all of you to discover the new clean energy technologies that could help put millions of our people to work in high-skill, high-wage jobs.”

Locke has been leading the administration’s first Cabinet-level trade mission over the past week and a half, traveling to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing, China before his final stop in Jakarta. The mission had a goal of advancing President Obama’s National Export Initiative, which aims to double U.S. exports within five years to support two million American jobs.

Overall, Locke was joined by a business delegation of 46 executives from 29 U.S. companies on the mission, along with representatives from the U.S. Trade Development Agency (TDA), the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM).