Malaysia Sends Letter of Application to Join BRICS to Russia, Prime Minister Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Sunday that the country had sent a letter of application to join BRICS, expressing readiness to become the group’s strategic partner.
Sputnik
"Malaysia has sent a letter of application to join the [BRICS] organization to Russia as the BRICS chairman, besides expressing openness to participate as a member country or strategic partner," the prime minister was quoted as saying by the state-run Bernama news agency.
Malaysia’s intention to join BRICS was the main topic of his talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is currently on a visit to the Asian country, Ibrahim said.
In the beginning of July, Russian upper house speaker Valentina Matvienko announced that twenty-four countries are in line to join the BRICS group of major emerging economies.