KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is leading efforts to strengthen strategic investments and global economic cooperation through a series of bilateral meetings and active participation in the 17th BRICS Summit.

He held meetings with leaders of nations including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, as well as World Trade Organisation (WTO) director-general Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

The discussions focused on, among others, expanding cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, digital technology, renewable energy, as well as the halal and aerospace industries.

Okonjo-Iweala is a Nigerian economist who has served as the WTO director-general since March 2021 and is the first woman and African to lead the organisation as director-general.

Meanwhile, at the summit, Anwar stressed Malaysia's commitment to the principles of multilateralism and economic justice, as well as supporting WTO reforms to be more inclusive and responsive to future challenges such as AI and digital trade.

As Asean chair, he called for fair and ethical global cooperation and rejected divisive geopolitics, emphasising the importance of artificial intelligence (AI) governance based on universal values for sustainable development and shared prosperity.

Anwar arrived in Rio De Janeiro on Saturday to attend the 17th BRICS Leaders' Summit hosted by Brazil.

Malaysia is participating in the summit in its capacity as a BRICS partner country and the Asean 2025 chair.

The summit was the first gathering of heads of state and government from BRICS member and partner countries.