KUALA LUMPUR, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today received a courtesy call from Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, who is on a two-day official visit to Malaysia from yesterday. In a Facebook post, Anwar said that the meeting discussed strengthening relations between Malaysia and Brazil, especially in trade and investment, including in the semiconductor and petroleum and gas industries. Anwar and Vieira also discussed Malaysia's participation in several initiatives under Brazil's G20 chairmanship this year. "I also emphasised the importance of making Malaysia-Brazil relations a model of effective cooperation among Global South countries. "Areas that could be explored together include education, research and development (R and D), socio-economic fields such as housing and poverty eradication, as well as arts and culture," said Anwar. According to the post, Anwar and Vieira also exchanged views on regional developments, particularly the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the Russia-Ukraine confli ct and issues in Venezuela and Myanmar. The Prime Minister said that he also raised Malaysia's application to join BRICS, to which Vieira assured that Brazil would make a concerted effort to realise Malaysia's inclusion in the economic bloc. BRICS was established in 2009 as a platform for cooperation among rapidly developing economies, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining in 2010. In January 2024, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were accepted as new members. At the meeting, Vieira extended an invitation from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for Anwar to attend the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro this November. Source: BERNAMA News Agency