Rio De Janeiro (ANTARA) - President Prabowo Subianto landed at Galeão Air Force Base in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, around 6:30 a.m. local time on Saturday morning to attend the BRICS Summit and engage in a series of bilateral meetings.
This marks his first participation in the BRICS forum since Indonesia officially became a full member of the bloc of emerging economies on January 6, 2025.
Upon his arrival, Prabowo was welcomed by representatives of the Brazilian government.
They included Ambassador Laudemar Gonçalves de Aguiar Neto, secretary for trade promotion, science, technology, innovation, and culture at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and representatives from the Brazilian Air Force.
At the foot of the aircraft steps, Prabowo, dressed in a brown safari outfit, was joined by Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya, who exited the cabin first. The President was greeted with a military honor guard ceremony, including trumpet salutes and formal military gestures.
The President was welcomed by the Indonesian Ambassador to Brazil, Edi Yusup, and the Defense Attaché of the Indonesian Embassy in Brasília.
Following the welcoming ceremony, the President and his delegation were escorted to their hotel, the Sheraton Grand Rio, located approximately 30 minutes by car from the airport.
Prabowo is scheduled to be in Brazil until July 9, 2025. His agenda includes attending the BRICS Leaders’ Summit on July 6 and 7 at the Museum of Modern Art (MMA) in Rio de Janeiro, followed by a bilateral meeting with Brazil in Brasília on July 8 and 9.
The Galeão Air Force Base is the designated entry point for heads of state and delegations arriving by air to attend the BRICS Summit.
Delegations from Malaysia and Vietnam arrived earlier for the summit.
BRICS is a political and diplomatic coordination forum composed of eleven countries from the Global South: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Iran.
The bloc aims to strengthen economic, political, and social cooperation among its members and enhance the influence of developing countries in global governance.
It advocates for greater legitimacy and equal participation in global institutions such as the United Nations, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Bank.
Originally coined in 2001 as an acronym denoting Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC), the bloc was formalized as a political forum in 2006. After South Africa joined the group in 2011, the acronym changed to BRICS.
The group held its first Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in 2006 and its first Heads of State Summit in 2009. After the 2008 global financial crisis, BRICS began coordinating efforts to reform global economic governance.
At the Johannesburg Summit in 2023, six new countries were approved to join the grouping in 2024–2025: Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
BRICS, which has a rotating presidency, focuses on three main pillars: political and security cooperation, economic and financial collaboration, and people-to-people exchanges.
At the 2024 Kazan Summit, the bloc introduced a “partner country” category, which includes Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan.
This news was published on Antaranews.com with a title: Prabowo arrives in Rio de Janeiro for BRICS summit
