Indonesia will formally join BRICS as a full member, Brazil's government said on Monday, further expanding the group of major emerging economies that also includes Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Brazil on Monday announced that Indonesia had become a full member of BRICS, a bloc of developing economies increasingly seen as a counterweight to the West.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy and the world’s fourth-most populous nation, has become the newest member of Brics, the Brazilian foreign ministry announced on Monday. Brazil serves this year as president of the association comprising major emerging national economies,

Indonesia has joined BRICS, a rising international forum championed by China and Russia. Officialy founded by Brazil, Russia, China and India in 2009, BRICS has grown in relevance as an international forum for developing countries.