S. Africa benefits from role in BRICS

JOHANNESBURG — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday that the country has benefited from being a member of BRICS over the last decade.

“We have reaped the benefits of membership of this important bloc, most notably in the area of economic cooperation,” he said in a weekly newsletter.

Joining the bloc of emerging economies enhanced South Africa’s position as an important emerging economy in the world, he said, adding that it has given the country access to policy and technical expertise of larger and established economies, as well as access to the support of the New Development Bank.

The grouping’s other members are Brazil, Russia, India and China. Ramaphosa noted South Africa’s growing trade ties especially with China and India.

“Bilateral trade has grown, particularly with China and India, with commodity exports and manufactured goods imports featuring strongly,” Ramaphosa said.

He highlighted the direct investment in sectors such as mining, automotive, transportation, clean energy and financial services.

Ramaphosa said the establishment of the New Development Bank, which has a regional office in Johannesburg, has been crucial in financing and technically supporting projects in transportation, clean energy, environmental protection, water infrastructure and greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

“Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, South Africa has received $2 billion in funding from the New Development Bank under the COVID-19 Emergency Loan Program to fight the pandemic and to support our economic recovery,” he said.

He applauded the cooperation from other BRICS countries in terms of securing personal protective equipment and cooperation around vaccine access and distribution.

The president made these remarks after the conclusion of the 13th BRICS Summit held last week. He said officials at the recently concluded summit agreed to deepen cooperation in fighting the pandemic and in the mobilization of resources in response to future pandemics.

Cyril Ramaphosa