KUALA KANGSAR: Malaysia's application to become a BRICS partner has received strong and solid support from all BRICS members including Russia, China and India during a meeting of the eight founding members of the bloc.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said this was shared by Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed Ali during their meeting at the Seri Perdana Complex in Putrajaya yesterday.
"He (Abiy) said that in the meeting of the eight founding members chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which was also attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the first country proposed was Malaysia.
"Putin suggested, with strong and solid support from China, India, Brazil, Ethiopia, and South Africa… there was no question, they accepted Malaysia as a new member of BRICS, while other countries were postponed," he said in his speech at a gathering with the Padang Rengas community at Dataran Arena Square Pekan Isnin, Padang Rengas, today.
Anwar also said that Abiy highlighted Malaysia's strong reputation, noting that out of more than 30 countries that applied to join BRICS, Malaysia was among those that successfully gained membership in the bloc.
BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, and China, was established in 2009 as a cooperation platform for emerging economies. South Africa joined the bloc in 2010.
Since then, the bloc has expanded to include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Malaysia was officially recognised as one of the 13 new partner countries in BRICS last Thursday.
In addition to Malaysia, the other 12 countries are Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said that Malaysia was now regarded as a major semiconductor hub and has successfully attracted various investments from global giant companies due to the country's political stability and clear policies. – BERNAMA