KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is leading efforts to strengthen strategic investments and global economic cooperation through a series of bilateral meetings and active participation in the 17th BRICS Summit.
He held meetings with leaders of nations including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính, as well as World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
The discussions focused on, among others, expanding cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, digital technology, renewable energy as well as the halal and aerospace industries.
Okonjo-Iweala is a Nigerian economist who has served as the WTO director-general since March 2021 and is the first woman and African to lead the organisation as director-general.
Meanwhile, at the summit, Anwar emphasised Malaysia's commitment to the principles of multilateralism and economic justice, as well as its support for WTO reforms to be more inclusive and responsive to future challenges, including artificial intelligence (AI) and digital trade.
As Asean chair, he called for fair and ethical global cooperation and rejected divisive geopolitics, emphasising the importance of AI governance based on universal values for sustainable development and shared prosperity.
Anwar arrived in Rio De Janeiro on Saturday to attend the 17th BRICS Leaders' Summit hosted by Brazil.
Malaysia is participating in the summit in its capacity as a BRICS partner country and the Asean 2025 chair.
The summit was the first gathering of heads of state and government from BRICS member countries and their partners.
BRICS, which serves as a forum for political and diplomatic coordination among countries of the Global South, was initially established by Brazil, Russia, India, and China.
The bloc later expanded with the participation of South Africa in 2011 and subsequently Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates in 2023.
Indonesia became a full member in January this year while 10 countries: Malaysia, Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Nigeria, Thailand, Vietnam, Uganda, and Uzbekistan were accepted as BRICS partner countries.
— Bernama
