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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Prabowo Subianto said Indonesia is the fastest country to be accepted as a member of the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) alliance. The head of state stated that Indonesia applied in October 2024 and was officially accepted as a BRICS member in January 2025."Thank you to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil. Under his leadership, Indonesia was the fastest country to be accepted into BRICS," Prabowo said after meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Thursday, October 23, 2025.The former defense minister said that the Indonesian government aims to strengthen its relationship with Brazil. He mentioned that Indonesia still has much to learn from Brazil. "We want to improve this relationship. There's still much for us to learn," he stated.To strengthen ties with Brazil, Prabowo decided that Portuguese would be a priority language in Indonesian education. "Aside from English, Arabic, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, French, German, and Russian, Portuguese is a priority language for us, including Portuguese and Spanish," he said.The Brazilian government officially announced Indonesia's membership in BRICS on Monday, January 6, 2025. Apart from Indonesia, several other countries have also shown interest in joining this alliance, often seen as an alternative to Western dominance.In its official statement, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs conveyed that Indonesia, as the country with the largest population in Southeast Asia, shares a vision aligned with other BRICS member states in promoting the reform of global governance institutions and strengthening cooperation among countries in the Global South region.As the 2025 chair of the BRICS, Brazil confirmed that Indonesia's membership request was approved at the 2023 BRICS summit in Johannesburg.Previously, Prabowo attended the 2025 BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 6-7. During the event, the President participated in a plenary session discussing crucial issues, from global peace and security to artificial intelligence (AI) development, held at the Museum of Modern Art (MAM) Aterro do Flamengo.The Indonesian delegation's mission was to strengthen its role as a bridge for dialogue in responding to various global challenges amidst increasingly complex geopolitical dynamics.Sukma Kanthi Nurani contributed to this report
