Economist: BRICS Cooperation Does Not Conflict with OECD Accession

I see no contradiction between the OECD and BRICS because they operate on different timelines.

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Executive Director of the Centre of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS), Bhima Yudhistira, believes that Indonesia’s cooperation with the BRICS group of nations does not conflict with Indonesia’s accession process to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

This is because both involve different timelines for cooperation.

“I see no contradiction between the OECD and BRICS because they have different timelines. Indonesia’s accession to the OECD is still a long way off, potentially taking 10 years, whereas BRICS can facilitate short-term cooperation,” Bhima told ANTARA in Jakarta on Friday.

He made these remarks ahead of the 2026 BRICS Summit, scheduled to take place in New Delhi, India, on 12-13 September 2026.

According to Bhima, cooperation with BRICS can be utilised by Indonesia to secure economic opportunities in the short term, while the OECD accession process can continue as a long-term agenda.

He believes the government does not need to grant special preference to investments originating from BRICS nations or Western nations. Improving the quality of regulations and ensuring legal certainty are more critical factors in creating an attractive investment climate, regardless of the investor’s country of origin.

Thus, Indonesia’s involvement in BRICS and the OECD accession process can be pursued simultaneously without being viewed as mutually exclusive choices.

“The most important thing is the mission to improve the quality and certainty of regulations. Therefore, there should be no special preference between investment from BRICS countries and Western countries,” he said.

The 2026 BRICS Summit is scheduled to be held in New Delhi on 12-13 September 2026.

BRICS is a group of developing nations that play a significant role in the global economy and currently includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia.