PM Anwar calls on BRICS to boost intra-trade, champion fair and just global order
Lamenting unilateral tariff measures and protectionist policies, Anwar expressed confidence that BRICS, which today accounts for nearly 40 per cent of the global economy, holds vast potential to boost trade within the informal grouping. "With that collective strength, we can engage the world safely, fairly, and justly, negotiating on equal terms with all partners in the multilateral system," he said.
He further emphasised the need for reform of key international institutions.
"We must demand the transformation of global governance structures, from the United Nations to the World Trade Organisation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank towards a more democratic and just multilateral order," he said at the BRICS Business Forum entitled: 'Bridging Continents, Building Future: A Shared Agenda for Sustainable Progress' in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil today.
Also present were President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Vice President of Brazil Geraldo Alckmin and President of the Brazilian Confederation of National Industry (CNI) Ricardo Alban.
Anwar firmly asserted that developing countries should no longer be regarded as peripheral players in the global system.
"We are not merely heirs of post-colonial history. We have now risen as a dignified force with our strengths in technology, trade, leadership, and the moral voice of the world," he said. "BRICS today goes beyond political rhetoric. It is a coalition of political, economic, and civil society forces moving in tandem to demand a more just and equitable global system."
The uniqueness of BRICS is highlighted by the active participation of the private sector, women, youth, and civil society, making this struggle not merely an elite discourse but an inclusive and resilient collective movement, said Anwar, who is also the finance minister.
As the Chair of ASEAN, Malaysia shares this aspiration, he added.
The Malaysian prime minister said BRICS and ASEAN members must continue to strengthen strategic cooperation, including enhancing cross-regional trade and investment for the shared benefit of developing countries. BRICS 2025 is not merely a continuation of past efforts but a moment of renewed awakening.
With visionary political leadership, a progressive private sector, and a strengthening Global South solidarity, "we have a real opportunity to reshape the global landscape," he added.
Anwar also voiced his support for Lula, commending him as one of the few courageous global leaders today to speak on behalf of those who have been left unheard.
The BRICS group - which serves as a political and diplomatic coordination forum for countries of the Global South with collaboration across diverse sectors - was initially established by Brazil, Russia, India and China. It later expanded with the inclusion of South Africa in 2011, followed by Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2023, and Indonesia in 2024.
Malaysia, as well as Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Nigeria, Thailand, Vietnam, Uganda, and Uzbekistan, were accepted as BRICS partner countries.
Anwar arrived earlier today to attend the 17th BRICS Leaders' Summit hosted by Brazil at the invitation of Lula.
He is being accompanied by Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz; Minister of Transport Anthony Loke; Miri member of parliament Chiew Choon Man; and Paya Besar member of parliament Datuk Mohd Shahar Abdullah.
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IN Rio de Janeiro this week, the city welcomed leaders for the BRICS Summit. A fresh voice entered the conversation: Malaysia, a newly engaged BRICS partner country and current chair of Asean. Moments after touching down, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was ushered on stage alongside President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to open the BRICS Business Forum. The prime minister delivered an address that was personal and relatable and uplifting. At the core of his speech was a simple truth: the developing world can no longer be seen as peripheral players in a system built elsewhere. We are not relics of post-colonial history. We are rising powers in our own right, armed with moral capital, technological capacity and economic ambition. Anwar did not merely speak for Malaysia and Asean. He articulated for the Global South its pursuit of a more equitable, responsive and plural future. There was particular praise for President Lula, whose principled leadership has steered BRICS beyond rhetoric into something more consequential: a coalition with real potential to influence global structures. Today's BRICS, Anwar noted, is not just a forum of statesmen. It includes the voices of the private sector, youth, women and civil society. That gives it a level of resilience, inclusivity and legitimacy that Bretton Woods institutions do not have, weighed down by their hierarchical and opaque structures. Anwar's message marked clarity of purpose: Malaysia, and the Global South too, want to engage all, defer to none, and recast the architecture of global cooperation frameworks from the prism of developing nations. As chair of Asean, Malaysia brings a regional mandate grounded in multilateralism, economic openness and collective agency. Anwar addressed Asean's drive to strengthen intra-regional trade and investment, deepen financial integration and promote local currencies for cross-border transactions, towards a more stable, diversified and less dollar-dependent system. Building on this vision, the BRICS private sector could push innovative frameworks in finance, via green sukuk, climate-aligned instruments and sustainability-linked vehicles, as levers for systemic transformation. In his interventions at the Leaders' Summit, Anwar made a strong case for closer BRICS-Asean ties. Both reflect the ambitions of the Global South, not to disrupt global order, but to rebalance it. As economic bifurcation deepens and supply chains collapse, this dialogue helps to rebuild connectivity, fortify inter-regional trade and investment, and enhance collaboration in the sectors that matter. Anwar called for nothing less than reform of the major postwar institutions, such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation, in order to reflect the 21st-century world. The existing multilateral architecture is fraying, not for lack of ideals, but in terms of responsiveness and the failure to evolve. On the notion that Malaysia's partnership with BRICS is demonstrative of a geo-economic deflection from the West, particularly the United States, Anwar made it unequivocally clear that the US remains Malaysia's top source of foreign direct investment. In terms of trade, the United States continues to be Malaysia's third-largest partner, a position it has held since 2015. Thus, any suggestion of a shift, strategic or otherwise, is groundless. That said, BRICS represents not a counterweight, but a counterproposal deeply rooted in inclusion, equity and shared sovereignty. It embodies a vision of balanced multilateralism that is networked, adaptive and genuinely plural. Make no mistake: what we saw in Rio was not a symbolic appearance. It was Malaysia stepping into a new role as bridge-builder, regional convenor and vocal proponent of a more equitable global economy. That momentum continues in October, when Malaysia hosts the Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur that Lula has pledged to attend — a testament to the growing stature of this partnership. The path forward is clear: not a retreat from the multilateral order, but its reform. Not a rejection of global engagement, but its redistribution. Not a rivalry of blocs, but a realignment of priorities.
