KUALA LUMPUR: Cuban ambassador to Malaysia, Florentino Batista Gonzalez, has lauded Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's bold foreign policy and strategic initiatives to strengthen Malaysia's ties with the Global South, fostering greater collaboration among developing nations.

He described Malaysia's engagement with BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) as "more than bold", calling it a necessary and forward-looking strategy.

"It is an actual pragmatical approach on behalf of the Malaysian people and society. He (Anwar) has done great in finding, identifying and going forward with every new possibility.

"BRICS is only one of them. This is about finding an alternative and having another option – because if you have one, but can have two, it's better," he told Bernama when met after an interview with The Nation  programme on Monday.

Gonzalez highlighted the importance of South-South cooperation in addressing shared challenges such as tropical diseases, poverty and developmental disparities. He emphasised that the nations of the Global South must work together to overcome these issues.

"Nobody's going to come and face these problems for us. It's not just Cuba or Malaysia; it's our Global South. We need to combine our efforts if we want to get rid of these issues," he remarked, advocating for collective intelligence to tackle common challenges.

The ambassador also underlined Malaysia's leadership role in ASEAN, noting its potential to serve as a bridge to Latin America.

"Malaysia enjoys quite a deal of respect among its ASEAN neighbours. Malaysia's leadership is something they acknowledge, they recognise, and even look forward to, especially during Malaysia's tenure as chairman," he said.

He pointed to the growing trade and human capital exchange between Latin America and ASEAN, suggesting that Malaysia's leadership could advance cooperation in areas such as biotechnology and technology.

"It's not easy to go country by country, but if you can deal directly with ASEAN, with its regional organisations, then it makes everything much more practical and faster," he said.

Gonzalez praised Malaysia's balanced approach to foreign relations, calling it "an ally of Malaysia".

"Malaysia defends the interests of Malaysian citizens and companies. That's what makes it so genuine," he said noting Malaysia's engagement in various multilateral forums, including APEC and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), has brought immense opportunities to the country.

"These efforts bring resources to Malaysia, to the Malaysian people, companies and the economy. And that's great diplomatic relations," he noted.

He also highlighted the alignment between Malaysia and Cuba on key issues such as Palestine, stressing shared humanity over ideological differences.

"Cuba joined the South Africa case against Israel in the International Court of Justice in June this year. This step underscores how nations with differing backgrounds can unite for larger causes," he said.

Malaysia and Cuba established diplomatic relations in 1975. Havana opened its embassy in Malaysia in 1997, followed by Kuala Lumpur's opening its embassy in Cuba in 2001.