Anwar urges BRICS to act against unfair global trade practices

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has urged BRICS to take concrete action against unfair global trade practices and strengthen cooperation among developing countries in technology, financing and economic development.

Speaking at the 18th BRICS Summit here today, Anwar said BRICS offered significant economic advantages through the combined strength of its large markets, creating opportunities for trade diversification.

More importantly, he said BRICS opens up crucial opportunities for trade diversification, enabling member economies to wean off their reliance on traditional Western markets.

“We need to jointly act through concrete actions to dismantle the unfair trading practices.

“We (also) need to share our expertise and expand technical cooperation, including training in emerging fields, such as semiconductors and AI,” he said.

He said financing for developing countries must be sustainable and fit for purpose, warning that governments should not be forced to choose between servicing their debts and meeting the basic needs of their people.

Anwar said commercial capital had an important role to play if deployed on sound and sustainable terms, while highlighting the potential of the New Development Bank, local currency settlement mechanisms and Islamic capital markets.

He also urged BRICS to recognise that countries would follow different paths in the green transition based on their circumstances and stages of development.

Anwar linked economic prosperity to geopolitical stability, saying conflicts such as the current one in West Asia could have consequences far beyond the countries directly involved.

He said wars were driving energy prices higher and threatening the sea lanes on which economies depended, with countries not involved in conflicts nevertheless facing higher inflation and uncertainty.

Anwar stressed that countries with the greatest capacity to influence events had a particular responsibility to prevent further escalation.

The prime minister is in New Delhi for the BRICS Summit, where Malaysia is participating as a partner country.

He said Malaysia hoped to contribute to BRICS in the spirit of strategic autonomy, which he described as having the freedom to choose its own course and the courage to stand by that choice.

BRICS, originally comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has expanded into a broader grouping of emerging economies that advocates greater economic cooperation among developing countries.

The 10-member grouping represents about half of the world’s population and roughly 40% of global economic output based on purchasing power parity.

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