September 13, 2026 | 08:54 pm
President Prabowo delivers his statement at the 2026 BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, India, September 13, 2026. ANTARA/HO-BPMI Presidential Secretariat.
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Prabowo Subianto urged BRICS countries to turn their vulnerabilities into opportunities and strengths to build stronger and fairer economies."Our resilience must be delivering for our people. And to deliver for our people, we must be able to turn our vulnerabilities into opportunities. Our weaknesses into strengths," Prabowo said at the 2026 BRICS Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, India, on Sunday, September 13, as quoted by Antara.According to an official statement from the Presidential Secretariat's Press, Media, and Information Bureau (BPMI), Prabowo said resilience, innovation, cooperation, and sustainability should be directed toward building stronger and fairer economies that deliver tangible benefits to the public.Speaking at a BRICS Summit session themed "Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation, and Sustainability: Shaping the Future for Inclusive Global Growth," Prabowo said Indonesia understood the challenges facing BRICS countries.As an archipelagic country located along the Ring of Fire, Indonesia faces challenges including rising sea levels, extreme weather, and volcanic activity, he said. At the same time, Indonesia has abundant land and marine resources that could provide a foundation for future development."Yet our land and seas also hold much of what the future will be built upon: critical minerals, rare earths, renewable resources for clean and high technology, and forests that breathe for the world. The same is true across BRICS," Prabowo said.Prabowo said BRICS countries had significant strengths because, collectively, they control a substantial share of the world's critical minerals and energy resources, which could serve as a foundation for development in the green economy."We possess everything on which the green century will be built. That is why, when disasters strike, we must see these as more than just disasters. We must see the close link between climate change resilience and national development," he said.Prabowo said Indonesia, other BRICS members, and many countries in the Global South face similar and interconnected challenges that require joint efforts to address.He said combining the resources, production capacity, technological capabilities, and markets of BRICS countries could have a significant impact globally."When we address these challenges collectively, we also bring together an enormous pool of resources, productive capacities, technological capabilities, and markets. Put them all together, and BRICS can make a real and vital difference for the world," he said.
