Indonesia on Monday became the tenth full member of BRICS, the international grouping of developing economies.
The announcement was made by Brazil, a founding member of the bloc and holder of the rotating presidency until 2025.
“The Brazilian government welcomes Indonesia’s accession to BRICS,” it said in a statement.
“With the largest population and economy in Southeast Asia, Indonesia shares with other members a commitment to improving global governance institutions and contributes positively to deepening South-South cooperation.”
According to the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, Indonesia’s candidacy was initially supported by BRICS leaders in August 2023.
But the world’s fourth most populous country chose to postpone its formal accession to the bloc until the formation of its newly elected government.
What is BRICS group?
The BRICS grouping is named after its original founding members in 2009: Brazil, Russia, India and China, as well as South Africa, which joined a year later.
In 2024, the alliance expanded to include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.
The bloc was envisioned as a counterweight to the Group of Seven developed economies (G7), composed of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan.
Before Indonesia’s accession, BRICS accounted for 46% of the world population and 35% of global GDP.
Saudi Arabia has been invited to join but has not yet done so, while Turkey, Azerbaijan and Malaysia have formally applied to become members.
The most recent BRICS summit, the 16th such gathering, took place in Kazan, Russia in October 2024 and was hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
At the summit, member countries discussed strengthening local currencies and promoting non-dollar transactions, which drew criticism from US President-elect Donald Trump, who threatened the BRICS countries with “100 percent tariffs”.
This year’s BRICS summit will take place in Rio de Janeiro in July.
MF/ZC (AP, AFP, Reuters)