Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - Malaysia can become a partner country of BRICS before its participation in the economic bloc is finalised, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on July 9.
Speaking at a parliament meeting, Anwar said there is a possibility that Malaysia’s application to join BRICS will take some time, but good relations with member countries make it possible that Malaysia can become a partner country. He added that participation in BRICS would not conflict with Malaysia’s foreign policy.
BRICS membership is expected to bring many benefits to Malaysia in terms of trade and economic recovery.
BRICS was established in 2009 as a cooperation platform for emerging economies comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China with South Africa joining the group in 2010. In January 2024, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) joined the organisation as new members.
The combined GDP of BRICS member countries currently stands at 26.6 trillion USD, accounting for 26.2% of global GDP and nearly matching that of the Group of Developed Countries.
With the participation of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the UAE in January this year, BRICS now is a large market with 3.54 billion people, or nearly 45% of the world's total./.
