Indonesia has become the
first Southeast Asian country to join Brics as a full member. Together with its Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) counterparts Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, Indonesia was invited last October to be a Brics “partner country”, a category created at the Kazan summit with a path to full membership. Among them, only Vietnam has
yet to accept.
Mineral-rich Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of nickel and
pivotal in the electric vehicle battery supply chain. Malaysia is a major natural gas exporter and tin producer. Thailand is, among other things, one of the world’s biggest producers of rare earth metals. Their addition bolsters Brics’ growing clout as a commodity powerhouse.
Originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – hence Brics – the bloc
added Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates last year. Together with its partner countries, Brics stands to wield significant influence over the production and supply of essential commodities from oil and gas to minerals and
agricultural products.
As countries in the West reorient supply chains in the name of national security, Global South countries are collaborating to align their policies and build their own reliable supply chains for critical minerals and related technologies and industries. For Brics, the addition of Southeast Asian countries is significant: the region is home to vast deposits of critical minerals and resources.
The global
energy transition is driving demand for critical minerals. At the Kazan summit last October, Brics members pledged to advance their collective interests across the value chains of mineral production, vital for manufacturing clean tech products such as solar panels and electric vehicles.
Joining Brics allows these countries to coordinate their policies and build consensus to secure critical supply chains while resisting Western pressure to adopt strategies that may conflict with their national or regional interests.
