Jakarta, July 24 -- Foreign Minister Sugiono has stressed that Indonesia will remain a non-bloc or non-aligned country despite its BRICS membership.

"Our history shows that when we take sides with one bloc of power, our society becomes divided," he said during an exclusive interview with ANTARA here on Thursday.

He made the statement in response to concerns that Indonesia may align with one of the global power blocs after officially becoming a member of BRICS.

BRICS is a group of economies consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The group has now expanded into BRICS+ with the inclusion of several new member countries, including Indonesia.

Sugiono explained that Indonesia's decision to become a BRICS member was pa...