New Delhi, September 13, 2026 — President Prabowo Subianto on Sunday proposed joint industrialization among BRICS member states to strengthen global supply chains, arguing that pooling and optimizing the bloc’s vast natural resources and industrial capacity would bolster resilience across BRICS nations.
Speaking at the open session of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, India, Prabowo said BRICS members—including Indonesia— possess a significant share of the world’s critical minerals and rare earth resources, which are essential for technological development and the global energy transition.
He said harnessing those resources collectively would not only strengthen climate resilience but also boost productivity, expand technological capabilities and open new markets.
“We hold a significant share of the world’s critical minerals and energy resources. We possess everything on which the green century will be built,” he said.
“Therefore, let me offer something concrete. Let us industrialize together, and let us optimize the resources and capacities that we hold together,” The President added.
Established in 2009, BRICS comprises developing and emerging economies that account for nearly 49 percent of the world’s population and around 40 percent of global GDP, according to the bloc’s official 2026 website. Beyond its economic scale, the grouping also holds strategic advantages across the critical minerals value chain.
Indonesia, for example, is among the world’s leading producers of nickel and cobalt, while members such as China and Brazil possess substantial rare earth reserves.
Prabowo said those resources had already made BRICS a major supply chain powerhouse and urged member states to better integrate their strengths to create greater shared value.
“Our task is to connect and optimize it, so this existing strength can become a source of greater value for all of us,” The President said.
He further called on BRICS member states to recognize their collective strengths and use them to support one another, saying such cooperation would ultimately translate into more inclusive economic growth and stronger national resilience.
By strengthening supply chain connectivity across member states, he said BRICS countries could better turn challenges into opportunities for greater investment, stronger industries, more jobs and broader opportunities for their people.
“Growth that reaches millions of our people will make our nations more resilient, and it can only be achieved when development is inclusive. And when combined with innovation, our collective strength can become a powerful force, turning scarcity into capacity,” he said.
Prabowo added that the proposal aligns with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which aims to reduce poverty, protect the environment and strengthen institutions
“BRICS can bring together the voices of the global South, amplify them as we shape the future. A future where resilience protects development, where innovation expands opportunity, where cooperation produces concrete results and where sustainability means that prosperity must be delivered for today and for future generations,” Prabowo said.
