The bloc was originally formed with Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. It was later joined by Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
Brazil, which holds the bloc's presidency this year, said in a statement that member states approved Indonesia's entry by consensus as part of an expansion push initially endorsed at the 2023 BRICS summit in Johannesburg.
Indonesia's foreign ministry welcomed the announcement, saying "BRICS membership is a strategic way to increase collaboration and partnership with other developing nations”.
"Indonesia shares with the other members of the group support for the reform of global governance institutions, and contributes positively to the deepening of cooperation in the Global South," the Brazilian government was quoted as saying by global newswires.
Brazil has said one of the key objectives of the bloc is the ‘development of means of payment’ to facilitate trade between member countries.
During the last BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, in November 2024, member nations discussed boosting non-dollar transactions and strengthening local currencies. US President-elect Donald Trump then threatened the group's members with 100 per cent tariffs if they undercut the US dollar.
Rio de Janeiro will host this year's BRICS summit in July.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)