Brics leaders have called for stronger cohesion, expanded trade and increased use of local currency to improve the Global South’s clout as an alternative to Western power, even as the bloc of emerging markets maintains ties and partnerships with wealthier countries.
As two new members joined the New Development Bank, also known as the “Brics bank”, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told business leaders and investors on Saturday that this delicate balancing act and bid for greater momentum would be helped by stronger ties between Brics and Southeast Asian nations.
“We want to make sure that we speak from the position of strength, not ex-weak, ex-colonial countries, but as independent countries with a certain position,” Anwar said, speaking at the Brics Business Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “We must be cohesive. We must speak as one, based on multilateral arrangements.”
The Southeast Asian leader said Malaysia’s experience as part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) offered valuable lessons for Brics as it sought to challenge the dominance of Western-led institutions and economic practices. Malaysia holds the Asean chairmanship this year.
The Brics gathering was “a voice for multilateralism, for collaboration, working with countries in the [Global] South, but still engaging with the countries in the North as friends in this new alliance”, Anwar said, highlighting the importance of emerging economies asserting themselves confidently on the global stage.
Brics, an acronym formed from the original members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has since added Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates to the group.
