PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has urged leaders at Thursday’s BRICS summit to work together to ensure equal access to Covid-19 vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics.
“The pandemic has reinforced our belief that representative multilateralism is key to a sustainable future for all‚” said Ramaphosa.
He also urged Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) to contribute their fair share to the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator and support the waiver of COVID-19 vaccine patents.
“We each need to contribute our fair share to the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator and support the TRIPS waiver at the WTO to ensure a rapid expansion of COVID-19 vaccine production across the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on human life, livelihoods, economies and communities around the world. As much as we have known sorrow and hardship, we have also known solidarity and cooperation. Our collective response has demonstrated what can be achieved when we work together.”
South Africa and India have been leading the race in having intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines waived for developing countries to fast track the access to jabs, now backed by over 100 nations.
“We welcome the decision of our Ministers of Health to operationalise a virtual BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Centre,” he told the members.
The summit is also expected to receive reports from the BRICS National Security Advisors, the Chair of the BRICS Business Council, the Chair of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance, and the President of the New Development Bank.
The conference will also adopt the BRICS 2021 New Delhi Declaration, which emphasises the priorities of the Indian Chairship in 2021, namely reform of the multilateral system, counter-terrorism cooperation, the application of digital and technological solutions for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and enhancing people-to-people exchanges.
For this year’s summit, the Presidency said some of the cooperation outcomes include a revised Action Plan for Agricultural Cooperation of BRICS Countries, Counter-Terrorism Strategy Action Plan, Action Plan for implementing the Strategy on BRICS Economic Partnership, and revised BRICS Action Plan for Innovation Cooperation.
“South Africa’s membership of BRICS enables the country to employ additional and powerful tools in its fight to address its domestic triple challenges of unemployment, poverty and inequality through increased trade, investment, tourism, capacity building, skills and technology transfers, particularly to address its post-pandemic economic recovery,” said the Presidency.
South Africa has made concerted efforts to place the African continent and the Global South on the agenda of BRICS and to harmonise policies adopted in regional and international fora, with those pursued in BRICS, particularly Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
President Xi Jinping on Thursday said that China will take over as the chair of BRICS next year and host the 14th summit of the bloc in 2022.
China looks forward to working with BRICS partners to deepen cooperation in all areas and build a closer and more results-oriented partnership to meet common challenges and create a better future, Xi said while addressing the 13th BRICS summit via video link, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The13th BRICS summit is presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries that hold the summit every year rotate the presidency.
India is this year’s chair of the BRICS.
- Inside Politics
