Malaysia receives invitation to become BRICS partner

Malaysia received an invitation to become a BRICS partner about two weeks ago, Ambassador to Russia Cheong Loon Lai said.

The diplomat said that the Malaysian side is “actively considering” the proposal and “a response is expected soon.”

A written invitation was sent to Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hassan, the ambassador added, TASS reports.

Earlier, the Republic of Uganda had received an invitation to become a partner of BRICS. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Uganda takes a balanced and practical position in international affairs.

Following the BRICS summit in Kazan, 13 countries received the status of partner countries of the association. The following countries became BRICS partners: Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda and Vietnam.