Anwar said Malaysia was given priority and minimal resistance to be accepted into the group.

He said his Ethiopian counterpart, Abiy Ahmed Ali, who visited Malaysia over the weekend, highlighted the enthusiasm.

According to him, Abiy said Malaysia was “at the top of the list” and that the BRICS chairman, Russian president Vladimir Putin, had proposed for Malaysia to be included.

It was supported by Chinese president Xi Jinping, endorsed by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, and backed by the leaders of Brazil and South Africa, Abiy told him.

“So, there was immediate applause for Malaysia when Malaysia was named as a new partner of BRICS,” he said during the opening ceremony of DHL Express’s expanded Kuala Lumpur Gateway.

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, it 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.

The other 12 countries are Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.