We must use our BRICS membership to improve the lives of our people

Dear Fellow South African, 

Over this past weekend, we were in New Delhi, India, for the 18th BRICS Summit, an event that cemented the pivotal role of the group in building a more inclusive global economy and world order.

At the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg in 2023, it was decided to expand the group beyond Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. In addition to these five countries, BRICS now includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Together these countries account for around half of the world’s population and around a quarter of global trade.

For South Africa, BRICS is an important platform for building political and economic ties that benefit our country and people. Through BRICS, we can help to build a fairer multilateral world order governed by international law with the United Nations at its centre. 

Through our BRICS membership we have deepened practical cooperation in fields such as science and technology, research, education and skills development. We have led people-to-people exchange through bodies like the BRICS Youth Council, BRICS Think Tanks Council, the BRICS Network University and others.

While BRICS Summits may seem far removed from the daily lives of South Africans, the country gains a lot from our membership of the group. 

It is an important forum for investment and trade. More than a fifth of South Africa's trade is with BRICS countries. As a shareholder in the New Development Bank – also known as the BRICS Bank – South Africa has been able to access development finance to support major energy, water and transportation infrastructure investments. 

Through the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, South Africa is able to access a pool of $100 billion in currency reserves in the case of a liquidity crisis. We also benefit from BRICS cooperation across areas such as health, science, agriculture and skills development.

Cooperation between BRICS countries extends beyond government. A number of sectors of society participate in BRICS activities, most notably the private sector. While in New Delhi, we took part in the BRICS Business Forum, where heads of state, ministers and business leaders discussed how to deepen trade and investment between our countries.

We used the opportunity of being in India to strengthen links between South African and Indian business. 

We already have strong ties. India is South Africa’s fourth largest trading partner. More than 150 Indian companies have invested over $10 billion in our country, creating employment for over 18,000 South Africans. A number of leading South African firms like Naspers, FirstRand Bank, Sanlam and Momentum also have significant investments in India.

Building on these links, we convened the South Africa-India CEOs Roundtable with leaders from some of India’s leading firms and a number of South African companies. We also held a number of meetings with individual Indian companies that either want to expand existing interests in South Africa or explore new opportunities.

The Indian companies commended South Africa for the structural transformation that is underway in the energy, logistics, telecommunications and water sectors, and the reforms being undertaken in visas, public digital infrastructure and other areas.

We highlighted various opportunities for investment and partnership in areas such as green industrialisation, critical minerals and beneficiation, infrastructure, agriculture and the digital economy.

South Africa and India have complementary resources and capabilities that when combined can create great value for both countries.

For example, India's strengths in pharmaceuticals and health technology can support our ambition to expand the local production of medicines and vaccines. It has capabilities in information technology, financial technology and digital public infrastructure that can support the modernisation of our own systems and services.

Our endowment of critical minerals can feed India's fast-growing renewable energy, battery and automotive value chains, while ensuring that more of the processing of these minerals happens on South African soil. 

To turn this potential into practical partnerships, we are keen to restore direct flights between South Africa and India. We also need closer working relationships between our business chambers.

Looking ahead, our priority as South Africa is to continue to use our membership of BRICS to deepen bilateral cooperation and expand trade and investment ties.

Through BRICS, we will continue to add our voice to the growing call from the Global South for an inclusive world order rooted in mutual respect and shared prosperity. And we will continue to use our membership of BRICS to develop our economy and improve the lives of our people.

With best regards,