Strait Of Hormuz Disruptions Among Topics Expected At BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
From Mohd Khairi Idham Amran
NEW DELHI, May 13 (Bernama) -- Disruptions affecting the Strait of Hormuz, amid growing concerns over supply chain resilience and economic sustainability, are expected to be among the hot topics of discussions at the BRICS Foreign Ministers’ Meeting that will take place here on May 14 and 15.
Malaysian High Commissioner to India Datuk Muzafar Shah Mustafa said the current instability in the Middle East and wider geopolitical tensions were closely linked to the agenda of the BRICS open session themed “BRICS@2.0: Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”.
“I believe there will also be, not to say discussion, but a statement by different countries on the global situation that we are currently in, especially in the current situation in the Middle East.
“We can see how this conflict has affected many countries in many ways, in terms of supply chain disruptions,” he told reporters in a briefing here today.
The High Commissioner said disruptions involving critical global trade routes such as the Strait of Hormuz could have far-reaching implications for the global economy and geopolitical stability, and BRICS aimed to promote a more inclusive and sustainable resilience in terms of the supply chains.
“I think this is also an important role by BRICS members, who are, you can see, also a major player in the global affairs,” he said.
Muzafar Shah said that although BRICS is not a permanent organisation such as the United Nations, its members and partner countries could use the platform to exchange views and seek common understanding in addressing global disruptions.
“Any understanding at the BRICS level would also, I think, give a future direction in terms of how we want to address these global issues such as the Middle East conflict,” he said.
BRICS, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia, represents a major share of the global population and economy, encompassing approximately 3.87 billion people, or around 48.8 per cent of the global population.
As of 2025, the collective gross domestic product (GDP) of BRICS member countries is projected at approximately USD32 trillion, representing around 28.5 per cent of global output.
Malaysia, together with Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Uganda and Uzbekistan have become BRICS Partner Countries starting Jan 1, 2025, while Nigeria obtained BRICS Partner Country status on Jan 17 and Vietnam on June 13, the same year.
-- BERNAMA
