VLADIVOSTOK, September 5. /TASS/. Malaysia is among the countries that have a priority in joining BRICS, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said.
According to the Bernama news agency, the prime minister said that during his Wednesday talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), special attention was paid to the issue of Malaysia joining BRICS as a partner country. "The important point is that we are one of the countries given priority due to the invitation extended to [BRICS] non-member nations," the agency cited Ibrahim as saying.
The prime minister noted that earlier Malaysia's participation in BRICS was also discussed with the leadership of China, India and Brazil, which received positive feedback.
"We are considering BRICS because we believe that the cooperation of Southern countries within the Global South is highly beneficial," he added. In his opinion, BRICS strengthens the power of the Global South as a whole, so it will help Malaysia to boost economic cooperation which is not pressured by any other powers.
The Eastern Economic Forum is underway on the campus of the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok. The main theme of the EEF this year is ‘Far East 2030. Combining strengths to create new potential.’ TASS is the general information partner of the EEF.