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By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JAKARTA (Worthy News) – Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim nation, has become the newest member of BRICS, the group of developing nations named after its initial members Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, Worthy News established Tuesday.
Brazil, which holds the bloc’s presidency in 2025, said the members approved Indonesia’s entry “by consensus” as part of an expansion push initially approved at the bloc’s 2023 summit in Johannesburg.
The move is part of efforts to expand the group as an alternative to the perceived U.S.-led global order ahead of Donald J. Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States on January 2.
BRICS previously added Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates to its ranks. Nations like Thailand and Malaysia have also expressed interest in joining.
Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, asked to join BRICS following last year’s presidential election. President Prabowo Subianto took office in October.
“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,” the Brazilian government stressed.
GLOBAL SOUTH
Officials said that during its presidency, Brazil seeks to increase cooperation between countries of the “Global South” and reform multilateral institutions.
According to the government of left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, one of the objectives is the “development of means of payment” to facilitate trade between member countries.
Worthy News documented that during the last BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, in November 2024, member nations discussed boosting non-dollar transactions and strengthening local currencies.
However, U.S. President-elect Trump condemned the move and threatened the group’s members with “100 percent tariffs” if they undercut the American dollar.
This year’s BRICS summit will occur in Rio de Janeiro in July.
With Indonesia joining, the incoming Trump administration is due to remain on its guard as it rolls out its “America First” policies in domestic and international affairs.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
A Dutch community remained in shock Saturday after a 13-year-old girl was detained following the discovery of her parents’ bodies in their home in the northern Netherlands.
Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz declared a 90-day state of emergency Saturday, empowering the military to clear road blockades after nearly 50 days of anti-government protests that have included widespread road blockades, leaving at least 14 people dead and crippling the nation’s economy.
A powerful thunderstorm system sweeping across Western Europe killed at least one person in the Netherlands, injured several others in Belgium and Germany, and caused widespread damage as nearly 190,000 lightning flashes illuminated the skies, authorities said Saturday.
Israeli strikes killed at least 10 people in Lebanon on Saturday despite a ceasefire that took effect hours earlier, officials said, with Israel claiming it was responding to attacks by the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have agreed to a ceasefire that was to begin Friday afternoon, Worthy News learned.
At least 10 people, including four children, were injured in a Russian strike on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, Ukrainian authorities said Friday. In southern Ukraine, the State Emergency Service reported that one person was killed and four others were injured in a separate Russian attack on the Odesa region.
President Donald Trump signed the temporary peace deal with Iran ahead of schedule Wednesday at the Palace of Versailles in France, kicking off negotiations over a final nuclear deal.
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