Brasília made it official on January 6, 2025: Indonesia was now a full member of BRICS. The Brazilian Foreign Ministry delivered the news, and Jakarta answered within hours.
The decision itself was older than the announcement. BRICS leaders endorsed Indonesia’s candidacy at the Johannesburg summit in August 2023, and Brazil, which took over the chair for 2025, simply put the seal on it. Indonesia’s government thanked Brazil for that, and it thanked Russia, chair through 2024, for smoothing the path in.
Brazil’s statement said Indonesia “shares with the other members of the group support for the reform of global governance institutions, and contributes positively to the deepening of cooperation in the Global South.” Jakarta described the step in its own terms: “a strategic step to improve the collaborations and cooperation with other developing nations, based on the principle of equality, mutual respect, and sustainable development.” It also said the entry “shows Indonesia’s increasingly active role in global issues.”
From four founders to a much wider club
The group began in 2009 with Brazil, Russia, India and China. South Africa came in during 2010. Then nothing changed for years, until Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates became full members last year, as Hurriyet Daily News recounted. Indonesia is the next name on that list.
Russia’s Pivot to Asia, which counted the membership at ten nations after the announcement, listed the line-up: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the UAE and Indonesia.
What Jakarta brings
The same outlet put Indonesia’s population at approximately 283 million, fourth in the world. Its economy, at US$3.8 trillion in purchasing power parity terms, is the largest in Southeast Asia, and growth for 2025 is projected at 5.1%. It is the only G20 member in the region, the largest Muslim-majority country on the planet and the leading producer of nickel.
Trade with Russia has grown too, from US$3.3 billion in 2021 to approximately US$4.2 billion in 2024.
China congratulated Indonesia and pointed to its “active participation in BRICS Plus initiatives.” Eduardo Paes Saboia, Brazil’s Foreign Ministry Secretary for Asia and the Pacific, had signaled earlier that Brasília was open to taking in more members.
The queue
Others are waiting outside the full-membership door. In December, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda and Uzbekistan confirmed they were ready to join as partner countries, the lower tier of the bloc.
Sources
- Indonesia Officially Joins BRICS as Full Member
- Indonesia Joins BRICS As A Full Member
- Indonesia welcomes its entry into BRICS bloc
