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View all search resultsIndonesia presses BRICS to defend multilateralism amid trade shift
Indonesia also sought a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with South America’s Mercosur bloc as negotiations for a broader Indonesia-Mercosur Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA) made little progress.
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Trade Minister Budi Santoso (third left) speaks on Aug. 7-8, 2026, during the BRICS trade ministers’ meeting in Jaipur, India.
(Courtesy of/Trade Ministry)
T
he BRICS trade ministers’ meeting ended without a joint statement despite reaching agreement on “most agenda items”, Trade Minister Budi Santoso said in a statement on Saturday, underscoring the difficulty of forging a common position within the group as geopolitical tensions reshape global trade.
The ministerial-level meeting was held in Jaipur, India, on Aug. 6-7, focusing on several areas, including strengthening an open, inclusive and rules-based trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core. The group also pushed to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) go global and build resilient global value chains to support market opening and economic diversification among members.
“Indonesia stresses the importance of maintaining a rules-based multilateral trading system through a strong, inclusive and adaptive WTO. At the same time, the BRICS need to continue delivering concrete cooperation that directly benefits the growth of developing countries,” Budi said.
Read also: Indonesia braces for new trade measures as US temporary tariff expires
As the bloc’s newest and nonaligned member, Indonesia called on BRICS to pursue cooperation that “could deliver the greatest benefits” for its members, while warning against the risks of a more fragmented global economy.
Although Budi said the response was a natural form of self-protection amid growing uncertainty, he warned that countries should remain mindful of the risks of growing global fragmentation.
“We must continue to consider the risks behind it. The world could become increasingly divided, fragile and less able to address common challenges,” Budi added.
