"It is planned that President Subianto will send a special envoy to attend the BRICS," Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi remarked while giving a statement during the 45th ASEAN Summit here on Friday.
The Indonesian president has been invited to attend the 16th BRICS Summit, but the new government will be inaugurated on October 20.
Marsudi said that President-elect Prabowo Subianto and Vice President-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka will be inaugurated on October 20 so Prabowo may not be able to attend the BRICS Summit as the schedule is too close to the government transition inauguration date.
"The Indonesian president has been invited to the meeting in Kazan but because it is (close) to the transfer of government, it is a bit difficult for (soon-to-be) President Prabowo Subianto to attend the BRICS summit," Marsudi explained.
Earlier, at the 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, on August 22-24, 2023, Indonesia received an invitation to join the bloc.
However, Indonesia's prominence to become a member of BRICS depends on the economic benefits it can garner by joining the economic bloc.
"BRICS is an organization established for economic purposes. Therefore, we will try to calculate the economic aspect first (to understand) whether the benefits are worth it so that we can then decide to join BRICS," Marsudi stated.
Meanwhile, Director General of ASEAN Cooperation at the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sidharto R. Suryodipuro, confirmed that Indonesia is still studying the possibility of joining the BRICS bloc.
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Translator: Mentari G, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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