Malaysia Files Application to Join BRICS
The entry of new member countries has given a strong positive impetus to the growth of the international organization
Following the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the subsequent visit of the Russian diplomatic chief to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia sent a letter requesting to apply for membership in the BRICS group of countries. This was announced by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. According to state news agency Bernama, the Kuala Lumpur government says in a letter sent to Russia as rotating BRICS president that it is ready to participate “as a member country or as a strategic partner.”
South Africa joined the international organization founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, and the group was expanded in early 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Currently, 43% of the world’s inhabitants live in the BRICS countries (26% of the Earth’s land area), which produce approximately 30% of the world’s GDP and control 16% of international trade.
The dossier on Malaysia’s entry into the bloc was at the center of recent talks in Kuala Lumpur by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The decision could be made at the next BRICS summit to be held in Kazan, Russia, on October 22-24, 2024.
As Georgy Toloraya, Director of the BRICS Research Center, said in an interview with the RIA Novosti press agency, “10 years after its creation, the BRICS dynamism has slowed down, but the accession of new member countries has given this international organization a new powerful impetus for growth and development.”