Jakarta (ANTARA) - The government carefully considers its participation in any international forum or organization, including BRICS, in terms of the benefits and alignment with national interests, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."Indonesia's participation in any forum is not just for the sake of joining all forums meaninglessly," the ministry's spokesperson, Rolliansyah Soemirat, said during a media briefing here on Thursday.
"We have conducted many studies on existing forums and we have conducted studies to determine how Indonesia will participate in these forums," he added.
He further explained that Indonesia does not intend to get closer to a particular side in the global political arena because it wants to actively participate in all forums based on national interests.
Its desire to join BRICS is also "an embodiment of Indonesia's free and active foreign policy," Soemirat, who is also known as Roy, noted. Based on an internal study carried out by the government, Indonesia would benefit from the plan to join BRICS.
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According to Roy, one of the benefits of Indonesia joining BRICS is the opening of wider market access for the national economy and industry.
"The most important thing is that Indonesia's participation in any forum has been clearly reviewed internally and is certain to provide full benefits for the nation and state," he emphasized.
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Meanwhile, he said, with the statement of desire to join BRICS submitted officially, Indonesia's status in the forum has changed to that of an "interested country," which is the first stage of accession for new members.
Foreign Affairs Minister Sugiono confirmed that Indonesia is keen to join the BRICS economic bloc as the move aligns with its "free and active" foreign policy.
After participating at the BRICS Plus Summit in Kazan last week, he said that Indonesia views BRICS as the right platform to champion the interests of developing nations and the Global South.
