MALAYSIA has asked South Africa to support its bid to join Brics, the group comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said this was one of the topics discussed during a visit yesterday from Naledi Mandisa Pandor, the former minister of international relations and cooperation of South Africa.

“In addition, I also touched on the need to champion the issues important to the developing countries of the global south and the cooperation that should be fostered,” Anwar said on Facebook.

Naledi is in Malaysia to attend the World Conference on Islamic Thought and Civilisation, organised by Sultan Azlan Shah University in Perak.

Brics, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, and China, was established in 2009 as a cooperation platform for rapidly developing economies.

South Africa joined the bloc in 2010, followed by Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.

Anwar said the meeting also discussed the situation in Gaza and the world’s inability to stop the oppression of the Palestinian people.

He said he expressed Malaysia’s strong condemnation of the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. – August 2, 2024.