Indonesia welcomed on Tuesday Brazil’s announcement that it had become a full member of BRICS, a bloc of developing economies increasingly seen as a counterweight to the West. The Brazilian foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday that Southeast Asia’s most populous country “shares with the other members the will to reform the institutions of global governance and contribute positively to cooperation within the Global South”. Brazil, which holds the rotating presidency of the grouping in 2025, said Indonesia’s bid to join the bloc had been approved during a summit in 2023 in Johannesburg.

Indonesia in turn said it “welcomes” the announcement of its inclusion.“This achievement shows Indonesia’s increasingly active role in global issues and commitment to strengthening multilateral cooperation to create a global structure that is more inclusive and fair,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday. BRICS was created in 2009 by founding members Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa joined the following year. The bloc was expanded again last year with Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates becoming full members. 

Indonesia sees its BRICS membership as “a strategic step to improve the collaborations and cooperation with other developing nations, based on the principle of equality, mutual respect, and sustainable development”, the Jakarta statement said. It also expressed Indonesia’s “gratitude to Russia”, the 2024 BRICS chair, “for its support and leadership in facilitating Indonesia’s joining”, as well as to Brazil. During its presidency, Brazil aims to boost cooperation between countries of the “Global South” and reform multilateral institutions. 

One of the objectives, according to the government of left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is the “development of means of payment” to facilitate trade between member countries. During the last BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, in November 2024, member nations discussed boosting non-dollar transactions and strengthening local currencies. This raised the ire of US President-elect Donald Trump, who threatened the group’s members with “100 percent tariffs” if they undercut the US dollar. This year’s BRICS summit will take place in Rio de Janeiro in July.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)