KUALA KANGSAR: Malaysia’s application to join BRICS was strongly supported by its members, including Russia, China, and India, says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pic).
The Prime Minister said the matter was shared by Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed Ali during a meeting at Kompleks Seri Perdana, Putrajaya, on Saturday (Oct 26).
“He (Abiy) mentioned that during the eight-nation meeting chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which was also attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the first country proposed was Malaysia.
“Putin proposed it, with strong and solid support from China, India, Brazil, Ethiopia, and South Africa... No questions were raised; they accepted Malaysia as the newest member of BRICS, while other countries were deferred,” he said during a gathering with the Padang Rengas community at Dataran Arena Square Pekan Isnin, Padang Rengas, here on Sunday (Oct 27).
Anwar said Abiy also mentioned that Malaysia was viewed positively among more than 30 countries that applied to join BRICS and was successfully admitted into the bloc.
Last Thursday, it was reported that Malaysia is now recognised as one of 13 partner nations officially added to BRICS, a bloc that collectively contributes one-fifth of global trade.
@BRICSInfo via the X social network updated on Thursday (Oct 24) that the bloc had added 13 new countries as partner nations, without full-member status.
Besides Malaysia, the 12 other countries include Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
On July 28, Anwar confirmed that Malaysia had submitted an application to Russia to join BRICS. - Bernama
