Malaysian PM: Talks on Asian Monetary Fund ongoing

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim confirmed that negotiations on establishing the Asian Monetary Fund are ongoing, noting that it is not necessarily considered an alternative, but rather an addition to existing international financial institutions.

“Some time ago I proposed creating the Asian Monetary Fund precisely because we believe that there should be alternative mechanisms to complement pressure, and sometimes also to resist it,” the prime minister said in an interview with RT on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum 2024, in response to a question about the extent to which BRICS financial institutions can compete with Western institutions such as the IMF or the World Bank. “There is no need for competition,” he said.

"Because the IMF is, of course, a very important international organization, and we are part of it, but nothing prevents us from offering alternative mechanisms," he added.

Asked whether there was progress on the issue of establishing the Asian Monetary Fund, Anwar Ibrahim confirmed that there are some mechanisms within the Chiang Mai Initiative (the regional monetary cooperation initiative between Asian countries) where there is some financial support in this context, but at a lower level.

“We have been discussing this seriously within ASEAN and with China to lay the groundwork, and I have raised this issue with the Prime Minister of Japan. So the negotiations are ongoing, and they are more complicated, and you know that everything new is not necessarily seen as a necessity, it is not a challenge, but rather an alternative to the existing international financial infrastructure, and it is also viewed with some suspicion, and I think that should not be the case, because we are not offering alternative mechanisms, not necessarily replacing them, but complementing them,” he added.

Anwar Ibrahim is on a two-day visit to Russia to participate in the 9th Eastern Economic Forum, and is scheduled to address the forum's plenary session tomorrow. The Malaysian prime minister held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the forum today.

The Eastern Economic Forum 2024 will be held from September 3 to 6 at the Far Eastern Federal University campus on Russky Island in Vladivostok. The theme is: “Far East 2030. Let’s join forces to create opportunities.”