Riyaz Patel
President Cyril Ramaphosa has touched down in Brazil for the 11th BRICS Summit to be held in the capital Brasilia.
A statement from the Presidency said, “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 at regional and international fora with those pursued in BRICS, namely Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”
President Ramaphosa is also expected to use the platform to highlight to BRICS partners South Africa’s priorities for chairing the African Union (AU) in 2020, and the commencement of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area.
The Leaders Summit was preceded by the BRICS Business Forum.
Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel also held discussions with his BRICS counterparts.
“South Africa’s membership of BRICS enables the country to employ additional and powerful tools in its fight to address the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequality through increased trade, investment, tourism, capacity building, skills and technology transfers,” the statement added.
Another objective of President Ramaphosa’s engagement in the BRICS Summit is to ensure the ongoing implementation of the outcomes of the 10th BRICS Summit hosted in South Africa in 2018.
BRICS is the association of the five major emerging countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which together represent about 42% of the global population, 23% of GDP, 30% of world territory and 18% of global trade.
The 11th BRICS Summit is hosted by the Brazil, led by President Jair Messias Bolsonaro as the 2019 BRICS Chair.
Brazil’s priorities for its 2019 BRICS chairship are innovation, transnational crime, health and promoting trade and investment, with a focus on infrastructure development and possible public-private partnerships.
The summit is convened under the theme ‘BRICS: Economic Growth for an Innovative Future.’