Indonesia Received As A Member Of BRICS Three Months Since Submission, Indonesian Foreign Minister: The Fruit Of Diplomacy Consistency

JAKARTA - Foreign Minister Sugiono said Indonesia was seen as an important country because of its consistency and diplomatic determination, so that less than three months after the membership application, it had been fully accepted as a member of the BRICS economic group.

In the Annual Press Relations of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (PPTM) 2025, Foreign Minister Sugiono said, Indonesia expressed its desire to join the BRICS full member at the BRICS Plus Summit in Kaza, Russia, October 24, 2024.

This month, he continued, Indonesia officially joined the BRICS. In less than three months, members of the BRICS agreed to decide and accept Indonesia as a full member

"Indonesia is seen as an important country to be able to join immediately," said Foreign Minister Sugiono at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Friday, January 10.

Foreign Minister Sugiono further explained that initially many parties questioned Indonesia's decision to enter as a member of BRICS, considering that it deviated from the active free foreign policy that Jakarta has been holding so far.

"In fact, on the contrary, Indonesia's membership is a manifestation of Indonesia's active foreign politics, because this decision is not the result of last night's work, but rather the result of the consistency and determination of Indonesian diplomacy for decades," explained Foreign Minister Sugiono.

"As a member of BRICS, Indonesia will ensure that it bridges developing countries and Indo-Pacific, actively prevents accelerating geoeconomic and geopolitical competition," he explained.

He added that Indonesia's membership in BRICS is not an isolated policy, because previously Indonesia was also active in other multilateral groups, such as the G20, APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), IPEF (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity) to MIKTA. Currently, Indonesia is in the OECD membership accession stage (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development).

It is known, Brazil as the 2025 BRICS Presidency earlier this week announced the acceptance of Indonesia as a member of BRICS.

Brazil said member states approved Indonesia's entry on a consensus as part of the push for expansion that was originally approved at the top meeting of the bloc in 2023 in Johannesburg.

"Indonesia shares support with other group members for the reform of global governance institutions, and contributes positively to the deepening of cooperation in the southern hemisphere," said the Brazilian government.

BRICS was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining in 2011. On January 1, 2024, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates became full members.