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Indonesia calls for stronger cooperation at BRICS summit
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Foreign Minister Sugiono looks on during the first meeting of BRICS Foreign Ministers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on April 28, 2025. (AFP/Mauro Pimentel)
F
oreign Minister Sugiono has urged BRICS to deepen cooperation and strengthen its leadership in fostering global peace, amid the humanitarian crises in Gaza and Ukraine as well as the trade tensions under United States President Donald Trump, marking Indonesia’s debut at the bloc’s ministerial talks held this week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Addressing his counterparts at the two-day meeting, Sugiono also highlighted the need for a more inclusive global order and reiterated Indonesia’s aspiration to join the BRICS-led New Development Bank (NDB).
Founded in 2009 with just four members, namely Brazil, Russia, India and China, the BRICS group was created as an alternative to Western-dominated institutions like the G7. Since then, it has expanded to 11 countries, now representing nearly half of the world’s population and accounting for 39 percent of global gross domestic product.
Ministers from the bloc, which also includes Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates, met to create an agenda ahead of a leaders' summit on July 6 and 7.
Sugiono, marking his first appearance at a BRICS ministerial meeting following Indonesia’s recent accession to the group, delivered his national address in two separate sessions on Monday, where he reaffirmed some of Jakarta’s top political and economic foreign policy priorities.
Read also: Playing with BRICS fire
During the first session, which focused on global crisis response and creating peace, the minister called on BRICS members to take a more proactive and constructive role in upholding international norms.
