Indonesia, in talks with Canada, has proposed creating a bloc of the world’s top nickel producers similar to the OPEC oil cartel, its investment minister said.

The Southeast Asian nation is the world’s largest nickel producer, while Canada is also a major producer of the mineral, according to United States Geological Survey data.

“Through such cooperation, we hope that all nickel-producing countries can benefit from fair value creation,” said Bahlil Lahadalia, according to a ministry statement.

The proposal was raised when Lahadalia met Canada’s Trade Minister Mary Ng on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali.

He said an organization similar to OPEC, a group of 13 oil-producing countries, can help organize and tighten policies on nickel, a key mineral used to make batteries — including those in electric vehicles, stainless steel and cellphones.

Lahadalia previously floated the idea of ??such a grouping in an October interview with the Financial Times, saying that Indonesia was still formulating the group’s structure at the time.

Ng said in the statement that the two countries could consider the cooperation proposal, adding that Indonesia and Canada share a similar vision for optimizing their resources in a sustainable way.

Indonesia has banned raw nickel ore exports since 2020 to encourage investment in the country’s downstream industries, which also sparked a trade row with the European Union.

The Indonesian government has announced plans to turn the country into an electric vehicle hub. Nickel is used in lithium batteries that power gas-free cars.

It has attracted investment in nickel battery processing plants from some foreign firms, including China’s Tsingshan Holding Group.