Jakarta. Indonesia has just expressed its interest in joining the Russia-led group BRICS, marking the first major foreign diplomacy move out of the “good neighbor policy” that the freshly installed President Prabowo Subianto has proposed.

The BRICS alliance -- which first took shape to counter Western dominance -- originally brought together Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, hence the acronym. It has admitted new members Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has yet to officially join BRICS despite having received the invitation from the group. 

Foreign Affairs Minister Sugiono unveiled Indonesia’s desire for membership at the BRICS Plus Summit in Russia’s Kazan on Thursday local time. According to Sugiono, BRICS can become a vehicle to promote the interests of the “Global South”, a term that commonly refers to developing countries. Jakarta also denies that its possible BRICS membership means that it is taking sides, saying that it will continue to engage with other forums and advanced economies. 

“Indonesia joining BRICS embodies the country’s active and free foreign policy,” Sugiono said in a press statement issued on Thursday night. 

“It does not mean that we are joining a certain camp, but we actively participate in all forums. We see that BRICS priorities align with the Red and White Cabinet work programs. And that includes food and energy security, poverty eradication, as well as human capital development,” Sugiono said.

Sugiono’s statement came shortly after reports revealed that Indonesia was among BRICS’ 13 new partner countries. Three of them are fellow ASEAN members Malaysia, Vietnam, and Thailand. The partner country status does not mean they are full-fledged members. 

The BRICS gathering came out with the Kazan declaration. The document stated that the summit welcomed the “considerable interest” by Global South countries in BRICS, while also endorsing what it calls “the modalities of partner country category”.

“We strongly believe that extending the BRICS partnership with EMDCs [emerging market and developing countries] will further contribute to strengthening the spirit of solidarity and true international cooperation for the benefit of all,” the Kazan declaration reads.

Jakarta’s intention to join BRICS became the first outcome of Prabowo’s so-called “good neighbor foreign policy”. When Prabowo took over as president over the weekend, the former army general said he wanted Indonesia to be friends with all countries, while keeping an anti-colonialism stance.

Indonesia previously chose to not rush with a BRICS membership under Former President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. Last year, Jokowi flew to the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg as the rotating ASEAN chair. Jokowi said at the time Indonesia would like to weigh the pros and cons first before formally applying to BRICS. Analyst Yose Rizal Damuri said at the time that it would be best for Indonesia to not rush into joining the group, citing the group’s lack of clear economic benefits as a reason. 

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