Abstract

This webinar aims to explore Indonesia-India relations and their leadership in the Global South. Given Indonesia’s recently formalised membership in the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) organisation, the discussion will delve into the strategic significance of this recent development, as well as its implications on Indonesia’s and India’s strategic foreign policy objectives with the emerging economies in the region. In addition, the webinar will reflect upon how Indonesia’s BRICS membership may affect ASEAN’S regional cohesion and its engagement with the Global South. Can BRICS unify the Global South the international stage, or will India and Indonesia’s interest create friction within the bloc.

About the Speaker

Nia Deliana is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII). She teaches and writes on history, international relations and politics. She obtained a Ph.D. from the Faculty of Human Sciences, International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM). Her dissertation focussed on precedent historical foreign relations between Indians and Indonesia.

Before Joining UIII, she dedicated herself as a part-time teacher in Malaysia and Turkey. After the 2004 Aceh Tsunami and Earthquake disaster, she worked as a humanitarian aid worker with Bumi Sehat Bali, a non-profit disaster relief organization. She also worked with the Aceh Cultural Institute led by the late Human Right Minister of Indonesia, Hasballah M Saad.

Dr Nia writes on numerous issues surrounding her research interests that include Indonesia’s classical and contemporary foreign affairs across the Indian Ocean, multilateralism between South India and the Malay Peninsula, and the making of race, knowledge and identity politics, refugees and maritime security. Her latest works include a book chapter on the Rohingya during Covid-19 and a book chapter on Indians in Indonesia published by Brill (2025).