Jakarta (AFP) —
President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) left for South Africa on Sunday (20/8) to attend the BRICS summit (Summit) in Johannesburg.
Reported by the AFP news agency, Jokowi’s visit to South Africa took place amid speculation that Indonesia would join as the newest member of the group of developing countries.
The summit will last for three days starting from Tuesday (21/8) attended by key developing countries led by Brazil, Russia, India, China and host South Africa.
“Indonesia was invited to attend the BRICS Summit and of course on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, there will be meetings with other world leaders,” Jokowi told reporters before leaving.
This visit is Jokowi’s first visit to South Africa.
Earlier this week, Jokowi said the government had yet to decide whether Indonesia would join the BRICS or not.
The group, which was inaugurated in 2009, seeks to tame the economic dominance of western countries in global affairs.
This group represents 23 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 42 percent of the world’s population.
Apart from attending the BRICS Summit, Jokowi said he would also visit Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique to strengthen cooperation.
Tanzania and Kenya opened embassies in Jakarta last year, while Mozambique was the first African country to sign a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Indonesia. (ft/ah)
