COVID-19 - JAKARTA. Indonesia's Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia has been appointed interim energy and mining minister, in what a government official on Friday said was a temporary move while the incumbent Arifin Tasrif recovers from COVID-19.
Indonesia's energy sector has been under the spotlight this year after the world's biggest thermal coal exporter banned international shipments in January to secure domestic supply, sending global prices soaring.
Bahlil did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.
The interim replacement of Arifin was due to a COVID-19 isolation requirement, said energy ministry spokesperson Agung Pribadi.
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"God willing next week (Arifin) would be healthy and active again," the spokesperson said.
Tina Talisa, a spokesperson at the investment ministry, said Bahlil would hold both ministerial posts during the interim period.
Bahlil, 45, was born in the eastern city of Banda and grew up in Indonesia's easternmost region of Papua. He previously headed HIPMI, the Indonesian young entrepreneurs association.
Before joining the government in 2019 for Joko Widodo's second presidential term, he had interests in coal and nickel mining businesses, as well as logistics.
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