PETALING JAYA – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today said he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the near future to discuss economic cooperation matters.
Anwar said he has accepted Putin’s invitation to hold dialogues, with the prime minister scheduled to head over to Vladivostok “in a few weeks”.
“(The discussions are aimed at) stating our position as an open-minded nation which does not make enemies of others,” Anwar said during his keynote address at the officiating of GXBank’s headquarters and its GX Untuk Semua campaign, here today.
“Our principle is based on defending freedom while we also oppose oppression and will not stand by any countries suppressing and insulting (other nations).”
Anwar’s announcement today follows his remarks last week that Malaysia has sent an application to Russia to join the BRICS economic grouping, which includes the former Soviet state, Brazil, Indian, China and South Africa.
Previously, in June, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said Putrajaya has yet to accept any invitations for the prime minister to undertake an official visit to Russia.
He said Wisma Putra had to advise the prime minister to carefully scrutinise potential engagements to avoid entanglement in complex global politics which could affect Malaysia’s relationship with other nations.
Established in 2009 as a cooperation platform for rapidly developing economies, the BRICS bloc saw the inclusion of South Africa in 2010, followed by Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates in January this year.
Stressing that the government will not abandon its existing commitments to other regional economic groupings, Anwar said Malaysia’s potential BRICS membership will positively contribute to the nation’s economy.
The gross domestic product of BRICS members exceeds US$26.2 trillion (RM119.2 trillion), or 26.2% of the global GDP, Anwar noted.
He also added that there should be no concerns over differing economic, social and political backgrounds among BRICS nations. – August 2, 2024