Indonesia sets its sights on the world stage

Indonesia officially joined the Brics group, adding Southeast Asia’s largest economy and most populous country to the economic and political bloc established by Brazil, Russia, India and China in 2009.

The move strengthens the international alliance seen as the equivalent of the G7 group and is the latest chapter in Indonesia’s efforts to become a more influential player on the world stage.

global influence

In 2023, then-Indonesia President Joko Widodo refused to join BRICS, saying the government was still considering its options and did not want to “rush into joining.” But DW said there were “no such concerns” about Prabowo Subianto, who replaced him last year.

M. Habib Abyan Zakwan of the Indonesian Center for Strategic and International Studies told DW that Indonesia “doesn’t intend to break away from the West, neither slowly nor immediately.” “In Indonesia’s foreign policy DNA, we are all friends,” he said, adding that Jakarta “just wants to increase the playing field.”

Tuku Rezashar, an international relations expert at Padjadjaran University in West Java, said being a member of the BRICS “as a central power” gives Indonesia “influence in the world order.” And as the US “moves towards unilateralism” under the incoming Trump administration, the move will “strengthen” Indonesia’s “multilateral credentials”, said Alexander, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. Raymond Arifiant said.

grand ambition

Two other developments are likely to contribute significantly to the country’s economy and global standing in the coming years. Indonesia currently produces nearly half of the world’s refined nickel and two-thirds of its mined nickel, according to The Economist. As market share grows, “so do politicians’ ambitions,” with plans to create a complete electric vehicle supply chain that has so far been controlled solely by China.

The vision underpins Prime Minister Prabowo’s “ambitious goal” to grow Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 8% a year, but also says nickel could become “the ticket to developed status by 2045.” The Guardian reported that Jakarta’s hopes that the city would become the center of economic growth are causing concern. To boost its nickel industry, Indonesia has “created a loophole” in coal, allowing new coal-fired power plants to power nickel smelters and cutting off nickel production as long as they close by 2050. It said it was “crucial for the green transition”.

Therefore, “calling the nickel industry part of the green transition is a joke,” said environmental activist Muhammad Tawfik. “It’s good to create jobs,” but “it also destroys the ecosystem and people’s lives.” Indonesia is now consuming more coal than ever before and setting new highs for carbon dioxide emissions.