PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa says COVID-19 pandemic has damaged economies, saying trade and investment has been disrupted, as has global supply and demand.
Ramaphosa was addressing the 12th BRICS Leaders Summit.
This year’s virtual summit was held in Russia under the theme “BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth”.
He said for emerging economies already facing challenges of poverty, inequality and underdevelopment, the pandemic has taken an even greater toll.
“We are meeting at a time of global crisis, a time that calls for cooperation and dialogue between the nations of the world,” he said, adding that the event called on BRICS members to unite and provide leadership.
Ramaphosa called on the BRICS members and the international community to support a stimulus package for African countries in an effort to deal with the impact of the pandemic.
“This will enable African countries to contain the disease and rebuild our damaged economies,” he noted.
He noted that the BRICS strategy for economic partnerships 2025 should be reviewed.
“Since restoring our economies to good health is a goal common to us all, it is timely that we are undertaking a review of the BRICS Strategy for Economic Partnership 2025,” said Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa also said that the coronavirus pandemic “demonstrates the need to accelerate the establishment of the BRICS vaccine research and development centre”.
“The current experience demonstrates the need to accelerate the establishment of the BRICS vaccine research and development centre in South Africa as agreed in the 2018 Johannesburg declaration,” Ramaphosa stressed.
The leaders of the BRICS countries – Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Ramaphosa – also called on the member states of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to ensure that the restrictive measures related to combating the coronavirus pandemic are targeted and temporary.
“We call on all WTO members to ensure that all COVID-19 related measures are targeted, proportionate, transparent and temporary and do not create unnecessary barriers to trade or disruption to global supply chains, and are consistent with WTO rules,” the Moscow Declaration said.
The BRICS leaders also reiterated the importance of open, stable and secure global markets and acknowledged the building of more resilient global supply chains for increased production of critical health, food and other industrial and agricultural products at the national level and in their respective regional contexts, consistent with WTO rules.
“We recognise complexity and interconnectedness of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and its adverse impact on the international economy, healthcare systems, financial sector and development, well-being of the most vulnerable groups in our societies. In this regard, we reaffirm our commitment to contribute, in coordination with broader international community, to healthcare and economic recovery,” the declaration adopted at the BRICS summit said.
Given the BRICS share in the global economy and trade, the grouping”s leaders committed to lead in reinvigorating multilateral cooperation and consolidating international efforts, aimed at elaborating common, efficient and sustainable solutions to tackling the current crisis and ensuring economic growth.
“We will strengthen our efforts as necessary to promptly navigate the BRICS countries towards strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive economic development and growth in the post-COVID-19 era and acknowledge substantial fiscal, monetary and financial stability measures implemented in our countries in order to support economic growth,” the leaders said.
They reaffirmed their determination to continue using available policy tools to safeguard people”s lives and livelihoods.
“We attach great importance to the information exchange on the nationally adopted measures as well as short-term and mid-term stimulus packages aimed at effectively mitigating the consequences of the current crisis and full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” the leaders said in their declaration.
The BRICS leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to a strong, quota-based and adequately resourced IMF at the center of the global financial safety net.
“We acknowledge the crucial role of international trade in economic recovery and remain fully committed to a transparent, open, inclusive, non-discriminatory and rules-based multilateral trading system, as embodied in the World Trade Organisation,” they said.
“It is critical that all WTO Members avoid unilateral and protectionist measures, that run counter to the spirit and rules of the WTO,” the leaders said.
(SOURCE: INSIDE POLITICS)
