The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said Malaysia has sent an application to Russia to join the world's giant intergovernmental organization BRICS.
Russia is the chairman of the organization which is also joined by Brazil, India, China and South Africa.
A statement from the Prime Minister's Office said Malaysia's desire to join the BRICS organization was the main focus of discussions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov who visited the Seri Perdana Complex.
Anwar said Malaysia had sent a letter of application to join the organization (BRICS) to Russia which is the BRICS chairman and expressed openness to join as a member country or strategic partner.
On June 18, the Malaysian Government confirmed its intention to join BRICS to the President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
BRICS is established by four economic giants namely Brazil, Russia, India and China which was established in 2009 as a platform for economic cooperation. In 2010, South Africa began joining the bloc and completed the BRICS acronym.
Now, it has been expanded to include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates.
BRICS now accounts for a quarter of the global economy, accounts for a fifth of global trade and represents about 40% of the world's population.
During the meeting, Anwar and Lavrov also discussed strengthening Malaysia-Russia relations and expanding cooperation in various sectors, including trade, investment, security, defence, higher education, science and technology, tourism and culture.
The current situation in Palestine was also discussed, with Malaysia stressing the urgent need for a permanent ceasefire and swift humanitarian aid in Gaza, as well as the acceptance of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations (UN).
