Malaysia has received an invitation to join BRICS as a partner and will soon respond, Ambassador to Russia Cheong Lun Lai has stated.
“Yes, Malaysia received an invitation to join BRICS as a partner country about two weeks ago,” the diplomat said in response to a related question.
He explained that the invitation is being “actively considered” by the Malaysian side and a response is expected soon. The ambassador noted that the invitation was sent in writing to Malaysia's Foreign Minister, Mohamed Hasan.
Earlier, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal announced that 13 countries had obtained BRICS partner status following the summit in Kazan.
BRICS was established in 2006. In 2011, South Africa joined the initial members (Brazil, Russia, India, and China). Egypt, Iran, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Ethiopia became full members of the group on January 1, 2024.
Following the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russian President Vladimir Putin informed that the list of partner countries had been agreed upon. The full list was not disclosed. The Russian leader explained that invitations would first be sent to these countries, and once a positive response was received, their names would be announced.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Walkerssk/Pixabay
Based on TASS materials