Indonesia’s $1.3 Billion Contribution to BRICS-led New Development Bank

Indonesia will assign US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion) to the BRICS-led New Development Bank, further boosting ties with the group of developing nations. The country expects its contribution to help fund sustainable development projects, Coordinating Economic Affairs Ministry spokesman Haryo Limanseto said in Jakarta on Dec 2. South-east Asia’s largest economy formally joined the grouping earlier in 2025, seeking to tap alternative markets at a time when US President Donald Trump’s tariffs threatened access to the US. Since taking office in October 2024, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has also sought a higher profile for his country, which maintains a non-aligned foreign policy stance. The BRICS grouping, which was founded by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, also counts Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as members. In March, Prabowo announced Indonesia would join the New Development Bank after meeting the lender’s president Dilma Rousseff in Jakarta. The BRICS’ founding members account for 94 per cent of subscribed shares in the New Development Bank, while Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt and the UAE account for the remainder, according to the bank’s website. The founders subscribed for US$50 billion of paid-in and callable capital.