Indonesian expert: BRICS offers alternative to Western-led development

Lead: An Indonesian scholar told a BRICS forum in Rio de Janeiro that the group offers a crucial alternative to the Western model, which she said has left many developing nations dependent and unstable.

By Zhang Heling and Lyu Junwen

An Indonesian scholar described BRICS countries as "the architects of a new global development order" at the BRICS Seminar on Governance and Cultural Exchange Forum 2025 in Rio de Janeiro, saying the group provides a crucial alternative to the Western development model, which has locked developing nations into dependency and instability.

Veronika Saraswati, head of the International Relations Program at the Global Development Research Centre in Indonesia, said Western governments have promoted a development model centered on privatization, deregulation and reduced state involvement, often as conditions for receiving aid.

Veronika Saraswati, head of the International Relations Program at the Global Development Research Centre in Indonesia, speaks at the BRICS Seminar on Governance and Cultural Exchange Forum 2025 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 30, 2025. [Photo courtesy of the event organizer]

Saraswati said while these measures are presented as steps toward progress, they have led to governance crises, entrenched dependence on foreign creditors and prolonged economic stagnation in many developing countries.

In contrast, BRICS supports a model that prioritizes state-led development, infrastructure investment and strengthening national economic autonomy, said Saraswati.

BRICS has promoted stability through economic and security cooperation amid global tensions and slowing economic growth, she added. The group has moved beyond its original economic focus to advocate a new international development model based on equitable distribution, inclusive governance, and greater attention to the needs of the Global South.

"BRICS is a vital balancing power in shaping a more equitable and stable global future. With principles of equality, sustainable development, and inclusive multilateralism, BRICS provides an alternative to the unequal system." Saraswati said.

The forum, co-hosted by the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, China International Communications Group and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, was held in Rio de Janeiro on June 30, 2025.