Indonesia also sought a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with South America’s Mercosur bloc as negotiations for a broader Indonesia-Mercosur Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA) made little progress.
Trade Minister Budi Santoso (third left) speaks on Aug. 7-8, 2026, during the BRICS trade ministers’ meeting in Jaipur, India.
(Courtesy of/Trade Ministry)
The BRICS trade ministers’ meeting ended without a joint statement despite reaching agreement on “most agenda items”, Trade Minister Budi Santoso said in a statement on Saturday, underscoring the difficulty of forging a common position within the group as geopolitical tensions reshape global trade.The ministerial-level meeting was held in Jaipur, India, on Aug. 6-7, focusing on several areas, including strengthening an open, inclusive and rules-based trading system with the World Trade Organization at its core. The group also pushed to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) go global and build resilient global value chains to support market opening and economic diversification among members.
“Indonesia stresses the importance of maintaining a rules-based multilateral trading system through a strong, inclusive and adaptive WTO. At the same time, the BRICS need to continue delivering concrete cooperation that directly benefits the growth of developing countries,” Budi said.
