Indonesia should join BRICS immediately as the world today needs a balance of defense, security, and economic aspects, said Connie Rahakundini Bakrie, a scientific security adviser to the governing Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
"It (the urgency to join BRICS) is an inevitability," Bakrie said on the sidelines of the celebration of the 96th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Jakarta on Monday, as quoted by the ANTARA news agency.
This is not the first time Indonesia has been mentioned as a potential BRICS candidate. During the 2017 BRICS summit in Xiamen, China, the Xinhua news agency reported three times that Indonesia could potentially join the group, which includes some of the world's largest economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
According to Bakrie, the five BRICS member countries now have the potential to become the world's largest economic engines by 2050. She believes that Indonesia "needs to strengthen relations with BRICS" in order to support its own economy.
Bakrie also mentioned that Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer to provide free grain and fertilizer to some African countries is "a clear example of BRICS' efforts to address economic challenges, especially in developing countries."
Since BRICS announced plans to expand its membership and make the organization more inclusive, more than 40 countries have expressed interest in joining the group; 22 of them have already submitted formal applications, according to Anil Sooklal, South Africa's ambassador-at-large for Asia and BRICS and the country's BRICS sherpa.
Earlier, South African Ambassador to Moscow Mzuvukile Jeff Maqetuka told Sputnik in an interview that all five BRICS countries welcome the expansion of the bloc, but that it is necessary to determine the modalities of admitting new members and that this issue should be decided collectively.
The forthcoming BRICS Summit in Johannesburg on August 22-24 will be attended by the leaders of China, India, Brazil, and South Africa, with Russia represented by its Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would participate in the summit via videoconference. The issue of BRICS expansion is expected to be on the summit's agenda.
It was previously reported that Indonesian President Joko Widodo would personally attend the BRICS Summit in South Africa.