Indonesia needs to deepen partnerships with S. Africa, Brazil within BRICS framework: expert

JAKARTA, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia is encouraged to strengthen its partnerships with South Africa and Brazil as part of its membership in the BRICS economic group, an expert said on Tuesday.

"Indonesia, South Africa, and Brazil have similar products, and logistics are costly due to the significant geographical distance," said Bhima Yudhistira, director of the Center for Economics and Law Studies, highlighting the challenges of Indonesia's cooperation with these two countries.

Bhima noted that Indonesia has opportunities to collaborate with South Africa on managing vital mineral resources and energy transition funds. Both nations are recipients of energy transition funding under the Just Energy Transition Partnership.

Meanwhile, Brazil, which is set to host the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference, and Indonesia, both tropical nations, have the potential to work together on sustainable forest management and related initiatives.

"If BRICS is used to expand the market to South Africa and Brazil, that is something that must be encouraged," he added.