From Sharifah Hunaini Syed Ismail
MOSCOW, May 13 (Bernama) -- The meeting between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and President Vladimir Putin will help Malaysia gain a clearer understanding of how it can transition from being a partner country to a full member of BRICS.
This insight comes from Malaysia’s Ambassador to Russia, Datuk Cheong Loon Lai, on Monday.
He stated that although Malaysia was accepted into the bloc as a partner country on January 1 of this year, the organisation has not yet clearly defined the process by which a partner country can eventually become a full member.
Cheong said that Malaysia’s status in BRICS could be among the key topics to be discussed between Anwar and President Vladimir Putin during their meeting scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday) evening.
"That has been one of the promises (made) whereby we will eventually move from the status of a partner country to be a full member,” he told the Malaysian media covering Anwar’s official visit to Russia beginning today.
"As of now, I was told that there is still nothing defined in terms of the mechanism, or how they are going to go about it.
“There remains no clear framework of what the status entails or how it might lead to full membership. This is something that needs to be sorted out by the BRICS members themselves," he said.
Nevertheless, Cheong said Putrajaya deeply appreciates BRIC’s acceptance of Malaysia as a partner country.
Malaysia officially became a BRICS partner country on Jan 1, 2025, following the 16th BRICS Summit held in Kazan in October 2024, when Russia was chairing the group.
BRICS is made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.
Anwar’s official visit to Russia started in Moscow today until May 16.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to meet Russia’s Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, tomorrow.
On May 15, he heads to Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, to attend the 16th International Economic Forum “Russia-Islamic World: KazanForum”.
-- BERNAMA
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