Brics working for unity

Political parties should seek to actively reverse the rise of narrow and extreme nationalism taking root in some parts of the world, President Cyril Ramaphosa said yesterday.

Opening the three-day Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, SA) political parties plus dialogue (PPPD) in Tshwane, Ramaphosa said narrow nationalism only served to undermine the rulesbased multilateral system of global governance.

“What we never ought to forget regarding this is that when extreme nationalism rises, so does that potential for one country or a small group of countries to arrogate to themselves the right to determine the fate of the entire world,” he warned.

“As we grapple with the challenges facing our respective countries and the world as a whole, we have a responsibility as leading political parties to forge unity among ourselves and act in concert to make the world a better place for all to live in.”

He invoked Nelson Mandela, saying the gathered parties must “frown upon imperialism and any form of oppression of one by another”, and “assert and defend the equality of all humans, regardless of race, class and gender, as well as the equality of all sovereign states, regardless of their economic power or military strength.”

In his address, ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule tackled the third industrial revolution demands, saying: “The more society moves forward, the greater the advancements, the greater scope and depth to deepen our understanding of the material conditions we find ourselves.”

Brics – whose key objective is to strengthen economic and social ties among the five nations – has come up with the PPPD concept to rope in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East to come up with a common approach in dealing with economic and political challenges – strengthening global multilateralism.

The gathering will today break into commissions to discuss multilateralism, inclusive economic development, the fourth industrial revolution, peace and stability before adopting the Tshwane Brics Political Parties Plus Communique tomorrow.