Prabowo urges BRICS members to leverage shared strengths

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto encouraged BRICS member states to recognize their shared strengths and harness them to collectively overcome global challenges, underlining the importance of mutual support.

“The first step is to recognize the value of what we have and use these strengths to help one another,” he said during an open session of the 2026 BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India, on Sunday.

As cited in a Presidential Secretariat statement, Prabowo noted that BRICS countries and the broader Global South face similar challenges that can be addressed by aligning their resources, production capacity, technological capabilities, and markets.

“Together, we can turn these interconnected challenges into opportunities for greater investment, for stronger industries, and for more jobs and better opportunities for our people,” Prabowo remarked.

The president asserted that BRICS nations should pursue growth that reaches millions of citizens to strengthen national resilience, adding that such an endeavor requires inclusive development driven by innovation.

Prabowo highlighted Indonesia’s transition from a major grain importer to an exporter, noting that the country is positioned to leverage its resources to bolster its foothold in global value chains.

Reflecting on the economic alliance, he described BRICS as already constituting a natural supply chain, calling on member countries to optimize it to generate greater value for all.

“Therefore, let me offer something concrete. Let us industrialize together, and let us optimize the resources and capacities that we hold together,” he said.

The Indonesian leader also highlighted his country’s vulnerabilities to rising sea levels, extreme weather, and volcanic activity due to its position along the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Despite these environmental threats, he emphasized that Indonesia holds vital resources for the future, including critical minerals, rare earth elements, renewable energy resources, and "forests that breathe for the world".

“The same is true across BRICS. Together, we hold a significant share of the world’s critical minerals and energy resources,” he added, asserting that member states possess what it takes to build "the green century".

Translator: A. Ramadhan, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Aditya Eko Sigit Wicaksono
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