Malaysia And 12 Others Officially Added To BRICS
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Malaysia has recently been officially recognised as one of the 13 nations that have joined BRICS as a partner country. This economic bloc accounts for approximately a fifth of global trade.
According to an update on X (formerly Twitter), the bloc officially added 13 new nations to the alliance as partner countries, though not yet as full members. Apart from Malaysia, the list includes the following nations as well:
- Algeria
- Belarus
- Bolivia
- Cuba
- Indonesia
- Kazakhstan
- Nigeria
- Thailand
- Turkey
- Uganda
- Uzbekistan
- Vietnam
Back in July this year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim confirmed that Malaysia had submitted an application to Russia to join the BRICS intergovernmental organisation. Currently, Russia chairs the bloc, which also includes countries such as Brazil, India, China, and South Africa.
What is BRICS
BRICS was originally formed in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China as a cooperation platform for emerging economies, with South Africa joining in 2010.
Since then, the bloc has expanded to include nations such as Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.
GDP of US$26.6 trillion
About 40 percent of the global population is represented by BRICS. This accounts for a cumulative gross domestic product (GDP) of US$26.6 trillion, or around 26.2 percent of the world’s GDP. This nearly matches the economic strength of the G7 (Group of Seven).
The G7 is an informal grouping of seven of the world’s advanced economies, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the European Union.