Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said this was shared by Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed Ali during their meeting at the Seri Perdana complex in Putrajaya yesterday.

“He (Abiy) said at the meeting of the eight founding members, chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which was also attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the first country proposed (for membership) was Malaysia.

“Putin suggested, with strong and solid support from China, India, Brazil, Ethiopia, and South Africa. There was no question that they accepted Malaysia as a new member of BRICS, while (the decision on) other countries was postponed,” he said in his speech at a gathering with the community in Padang Rengas today.

Anwar said Abiy mentioned that out of more than 30 countries that applied to join BRICS, Malaysia’s image was very good.

BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India and China, was established in 2009 as a cooperation platform for emerging economies. South Africa joined the bloc in 2010.

Since then, the bloc has expanded to include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates.

Malaysia was officially recognised as one of the 13 new partner countries in BRICS last Thursday.

In addition to Malaysia, the other 12 countries are Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Anwar said Malaysia is now regarded as a major semiconductor hub and has successfully attracted various investments from global giant companies due to the country’s political stability and clear policies.