President Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed membership of the African Union (AU) in the G20, the premier forum for global economic, trade and financial dialogue for growth and sustainable development.

President Ramaphosa addressed the G20 Leader’s Summit held under the theme One Earth, One Family and One Future in New Delhi in the Republic of India.

President Ramaphosa advocated for the AU’s membership of the G20 during the 2022 summit in Bali, Indonesia. The President appreciated India's Presidency in hosting an inclusive summit and placing the interest of the global south firmly on the agenda. President Ramaphosa also acknowledged G20 member states who supported the AU's inclusion.

The participation of the AU will strengthen global economic governance and allow African countries to own and influence decisions on key issues.

On the margins of the New Delhi G20 Summit, South Africa participated in the EU-African Leader’s meeting attended by the Presidents of the European Council and Commission; African Heads of State invited to attend the G20 summit; the African Union Commission (AUC); Heads of the IMF and the World Bank. The purpose of the meeting was to amongst others discuss AU’s G20 membership, food security, grain and fertiliser supply and the reform of the global financial architecture.

South Africa used the summit to advocate for an enhanced and expanded Global Partnership for Sustainable Development to meet climate change commitments.

“South Africa welcomes the Indian Presidency’s efforts to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.  The achievement of the SDGs must remain at the centre of international financing discussions to ensure that finance is mobilised in sufficient quantities and of suitable quality to support development in low- and middle-income countries,” said the President.

President Ramaphosa looks forward to working closely with President Lula as Brazil prepares to take over the Presidency of the G20 in 2024 and to build on the foundation laid by India.  South Africa will assume the G20 Presidency in 2025.

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President – 082 835 6315

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

Your Excellency President Xi Jinping, Co-Chair of the China-Africa Leaders’ Roundtable Dialogue,
Heads of State and Government and Chairs of the Regional Economic Communities in Africa,
Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat,
Ministers and Advisors,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Welcome to this China-Africa Leaders’ Roundtable Dialogue. 

This dialogue has been convened to consider the role of China-Africa relations in supporting the goal of regional integration in Africa as outlined in the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

Promoting the movement of goods, services, people and capital across Africa is vital for the future growth and prosperity of our continent. 

African economic integration promises to open up more opportunities for African producers and consumers, lower the cost of trade and attract large-scale investment.

South Africa and China have just successfully concluded the fourth State Visit by President Xi Jinping to South Africa.

The State Visit afforded us an opportunity to share views and to affirm the importance of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

We discussed the deepening of South-South cooperation and issues of mutual interest in international affairs within the multilateral formations of BRICS, the G20, the G77 plus China, and others.

We have also just concluded the 15th BRICS Summit.

A priority of South Africa’s chairship of BRICS is to address African developmental challenges, building on an existing partnership to deliver tangible benefits for Africa.

All BRICS partners support the AU’s Agenda 2063 and are significant investors in Africa. 

The New Development Bank, with its African Regional Centre in Johannesburg, also continues to mobilise resources for infrastructure development in the global South.

The significant infrastructure investment needed to operationalise the African Continental Free Trade Area will unlock the benefits of the continental market and generate mutually beneficial opportunities for both African and BRICS countries. 

These opportunities relate not only to trade and investment but also in driving sustainable development and increased standards of living for our people. 

In this regard, we thank the Chinese government for expressing its full support to the South African BRICS chairship in fulfilling this African Agenda. 

We need to place China-Africa relations in the context of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation – FOCAC – which advances a strategic and cooperative partnership between Africa and China. 

There is a need to further strengthen consultation and coordination on FOCAC to enhance implementation and practical cooperation in various fields under the Dakar Action Plan.

Future engagement should be aligned with the Second Ten Year Implementation Plan of Agenda 2063. There should be joint monitoring and evaluation and joint sourcing of the necessary funding for implementation.

Infrastructural development of a transformative nature in Africa has been the cornerstone of FOCAC engagement. 

In this regard, South Africa calls for a review of all FOCAC projects to ascertain the level of implementation and address any challenges. 

We would welcome technical, financial and capacity-building support for the identified North-South Corridor projects of the Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative within the wider Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa. 

China’s Belt and Road Initiative has resulted in the creation of new road, rail, port and energy investments in Africa. 

Investing in infrastructure is essential to diversify economies, promote private sector activity and boost job creation. 

Infrastructure investment also fosters innovation and productivity, lowers transaction costs and will improve Africa’s integration and connectivity.

As we move into the second decade of Agenda 2063, we must focus on African countries reaching middle-income status and empowering African citizens through improved productivity. 

We need to build a more integrated and connected Africa, amicably resolve African conflicts and sustain Africa as an influential global player. 

Central to African growth is the African Continental Free Trade Area.

In supporting the effective implementation of the AfCFTA, cooperation between China and Africa should promote investment, facilitate the development of value chains and boost mutual capacity to produce and export value-added manufactured products. 

Support for industrialisation should include enhanced support for micro, small and medium enterprises and the informal economy. 

A sustainable and inclusive industrialisation pathway for Africa would have to address issues such as unemployment, women’s empowerment, climate change, energy security and youth development. 

As part of deepening China-Africa relations we should enhance cooperation in international affairs and within multilateral institutions.

We should seek an equitable world order underpinned by international law and based on the principles of the UN Charter. This includes upholding the rights and interests of countries of the Global South and respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

China and Africa should cooperate in calling for the creation of institutional mechanisms that will have the stature, form and global trust to effectively manage matters of global peace and security.

Our deliberations this evening will afford us the opportunity to address a number of key developmental challenges that are specific to Africa. 

Dealing with regional challenges will further enhance our goals of regional integration in support of continental integration. This can only be achieved with our full commitment and through the assistance of important development partners like China. 

In this regard, I once again warmly welcome you all to this important Roundtable Dialogue and look forward to our engagements.

I thank you.

Excellencies,
Members of the Media,
Good Afternoon,

We successfully concluded the 15th BRICS Summit yesterday.     

It is the first BRICS Summit to be hosted in-person since the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent global travel restrictions.

Leading up to the Summit, there was a wide-ranging BRICS business programme aimed at attracting investment, promoting collaboration and showcasing opportunities within South Africa, Africa and BRICS countries. 

We welcome the clear vision of Ms Dilma Rousseff as the President of the New Development Bank on the role that the Bank should play in support of infrastructure and sustainable development in Africa and the Global South. 

We celebrated the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the BRICS Business Council and welcomed the self-review by the Council and the subsequent recommendations made to Leaders. 

We also welcomed the work of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance in their first in-person engagement with leaders. We particularly welcomed the participation of youth representatives in the Summit.

We addressed our expectations for the BRICS economic partnership to generate tangible benefits for our communities and deliver viable solutions for common challenges faced by the global South.

We shared our vision of BRICS as a champion of the needs and concerns of the people of the Global South. These include the need for beneficial economic growth, sustainable development and reform of multilateral systems. 

We reiterate our commitment to inclusive multilateralism and upholding international law, including the purposes and principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter.

We are concerned about ongoing conflicts in many parts of the world. We stress our commitment to the peaceful resolution of differences and disputes through dialogue and inclusive consultation.

The Summit noted that an unbalanced recovery from the hardship of the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating inequality across the world.

We encourage multilateral financial institutions and international organisations to play a constructive role in building global consensus on economic policies. 

We have noted that there is global momentum for the use of local currencies, alternative financial arrangements and alternative payment systems.

As BRICS, we are ready to explore opportunities for improving the stability, reliability and fairness of the global financial architecture. 

The Summit agreed to task the BRICS Finance Ministers and/or Central Bank Governors, as appropriate, to consider the issue of local currencies, payment instruments and platforms and report back to the BRICS leaders by the next Summit.

This Summit reaffirmed the importance of BRICS people-to-people exchanges in enhancing mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation. 

The Summit appreciates the progress made over the last year in the fields of media, culture, education, sports, arts, youth, civil society and academic exchanges.

We adopted the Johannesburg II Declaration which reflects key BRICS messages on matters of global economic, financial and political importance. 

It demonstrates the shared values and common interests that underlie our mutually beneficial cooperation as the five BRICS countries.

BRICS itself is a diverse group of nations.

It is an equal partnership of countries that have differing views but have a shared vision for a better world.

As the five BRICS countries, we have reached an agreement on the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the BRICS expansion process, which has been under discussion for quite a while. 

We have consensus on the first phase of this expansion process, and further phases will follow.

We have decided to invite the Argentine Republic, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to become full members of BRICS. The membership will take effect from 1 January 2024.

We value the interest of other countries in building a partnership with BRICS.

We have tasked our Foreign Ministers to further develop the BRICS partner country model and a list of prospective partner countries and report by the next Summit.

Today, we will be hosting leaders from Africa and the Global South in the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue. 

This is so that we can have an inclusive dialogue on key issues affecting developing economies and identify actions that we can take together towards a more equitable, inclusive and representative world.

May I conclude by thanking the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China, together with their delegations, for participating in this most successful 15th BRICS Summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Through this Summit, BRICS has embarked on a new chapter in its effort to build a world that is fair, a world that is just, a world that is also inclusive and prosperous. 

I thank you.
 

Your Excellency President Xi Jinping,
Heads of State and Government and Chairs of the Regional Economic Communities in Africa,
Chairperson of the African Union Commission, 
Ministers and Advisors,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Our deliberations this evening have been robust, giving us all a sense of the challenges facing Africa and the opportunities for progress. 

The discussions highlight the importance of effective regional coordination to enhance and support continental integration.

With the support of China and others, regional development and integration will support the diversification of our economies. It will enable African countries to shift away from the export of raw materials to the export of high-quality manufactured goods and services.

We conclude these deliberations with a clear understanding that the African Continental Free Trade Area is the engine for African economic and regional integration. 

We have discussed that investment in infrastructure in Africa will need to be significantly scaled up. 

Sustained engagement with China as one of the principal supporters of strategic infrastructure development projects is critical. 

We have identified obstacles in the way of regional integration such as inadequate financial resources, poor infrastructure networks, increasing violence, terrorism, political instability and others.

At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict have worsened public finances and increased the debt burden of many African countries. This has reduced infrastructure investment in Africa. 

Regional Economic Communities often have limited ability to implement regional agreements. Support by development partners for capacity-building, technological transfer, innovation and knowledge-sharing is therefore crucial. 

We have acknowledged the importance of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation as a means of deepening collaboration in the cause of development. 

The adoption of our Joint Statement a few minutes ago will further solidify our resolve and commitment to enhancing China-Africa relations. 

It is now incumbent upon us all to translate these intentions into concrete regional actions that are time-bound and results-orientated. 

We should use all necessary regional and continental tools, through our Regional Economic Communities and the African Union, to realise our commitment to an integrated, dynamic and prosperous Africa. 

I thank you.

Your Excellency, Mr António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Your Excellency, President Azali Assoumani, President of the Union of the Comoros and Chair of the African Union,
Your Excellencies, Leaders of BRICS nations,
Leaders of Africa and the Global South,
Leaders of Global and Regional Institutions,
Honourable Ministers,
Distinguished Guests,

It is a great honour to welcome you to South Africa for the BRICS-Africa Outreach and BRICS Plus Dialogue.

When reflecting on the purpose and role of BRICS in the world today, we recall the Bandung Conference of 1955, where Asian and African nations demanded a greater voice for developing countries in world affairs.

The Conference called for the recognition of the equality of all nations, large and small.

We still share that common vision of a fair and just world. 

We still seek to overcome polarity and division. We want a world without barriers between North and South, East and West.

We still seek a world in which we work together underpinned by mutual respect.

Through the 15th BRICS Summit and this Dialogue we should strive to advance the Bandung spirit of unity, friendship and cooperation.

In South Africa we have a world for this: Ubuntu. 

Ubuntu is a practice based on the understanding that our success, prosperity and well-being depend on the success, prosperity and well-being of others.

We see the BRICS partnership as a catalyst for global growth and development that responds to the needs of all nations.

It is the right of Africa and the entire Global South to fully reap the benefits of global trade and investment. Without trade and investment our economies cannot thrive and our peoples’ material conditions cannot improve.

As the African continent, we are determined that the continent’s substantial resources are harnessed for the benefit and development of Africa’s people.

The African Continental Free Trade Area, once fully operational, will unlock the benefits of the continental market and generate substantial opportunities for Africa and other countries.

To make use of these opportunities, Africa is looking to the BRICS partnership to unlock infrastructure and development financing. 

This was part of the founding vision of the New Development Bank.

The Bank is playing a leading role in efforts to increase the resilience of the Global South, and to bring fairness to global trading and financial systems by strengthening the use of BRICS currencies. 

We have to reform global economic, financial and political governance, including the multilateral trading system, so that we create a conducive environment for fair trade.

While many countries of the Global South are seeing significant progress in industrialisation, technological development, innovation and the digital economy, they are not fully reaping the economic benefits.

By working together, by sharing skills and capabilities, by mobilising resources, we will be able to give renewed impetus to global growth and sustainable development.

We need to move beyond expressions of solidarity towards inclusion and mutually beneficial economic cooperation. 

We trust that this dialogue will provide leadership, vision and hope as we strive together for a better Africa and a better world. 

I thank you.

Your Excellency President Lula Da Silva,
Your Excellency President Vladimir Putin
Your Excellency Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
Your Excellency President Xi Jinping,
Your Excellency Dilma Rousseff, President of the New Development Bank,
Chair of the BRICS Business Council, Ms Busi Mabuza,
Chair of the BRICS Women's Business Alliance, Ms Lebogang Zulu,
Honourable Ministers,
Members of the diplomatic corps,
Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Welcome to South Africa and to the 15th BRICS Summit.

The BRICS partnership straddles four continents and five countries that are home to almost three and a half billion people. 

Over the past decades the bloc has been a major driver of global growth, trade and investment.

BRICS stands for solidarity and for progress. 

BRICS stands for inclusivity and a more just, equitable world order. 

BRICS stands for sustainable development.

We are an inclusive formation of developing and emerging economies that are working together to benefit from our rich histories, cultures and systems to advance common prosperity.

We do so because we know that poverty, inequality and underdevelopment are the biggest challenges facing humankind.

We are therefore determined that the BRICS partnership must be harnessed to drive an inclusive global economic recovery.

Advancing the African agenda is a strategic priority for South Africa during its Chairship of BRICS.

It is for this reason that we have chosen as the theme of this year’s Summit: “BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism." 

We welcome the ongoing engagement of BRICS countries with Africa in the spirit of partnership and mutual respect.

Our objectives are reciprocal trade and investment. We want the goods, products and services from Africa to compete on an equal footing in the global economy.

The African Continental Free Trade Area, once fully operational, will unlock the benefits of the continental market and generate mutually beneficial opportunities for both African and BRICS countries.

As nations of the world confront the effects of climate change, we must ensure that the transition to a low-carbon, climate resilient future is just, fair and takes into account differing national circumstances.

In line with this objective, BRICS nations need to advance the interests of the Global South and call for industrialised countries to honour their commitments to support climate actions by developing economy countries.

Peace and stability are preconditions for a better, more equitable world.

We are deeply concerned about conflicts across the world that continue to cause great suffering and hardship.

As South Africa, our position remains that diplomacy, dialogue, negotiation and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter are necessary for the peaceful and just resolution of conflicts.

We are concerned that global financial and payments systems are increasingly being used as instruments of geopolitical contestation.

Global economic recovery relies on predictable global payment systems and the smooth operation of banking, supply chains, trade, tourism and financial flows.

We will continue discussions on practical measures to facilitate trade and investment flows through the increased use of local currencies.

The world is changing. 

New economic, political, social and technological realities call for greater cooperation between nations.

These realities call for a fundamental reform of the institutions of global governance so that they may be more representative and better able to respond to the challenges that confront humanity.

While firmly committed to advance the interests of the Global South, BRICS stands ready to collaborate with all countries that aspire to create a more inclusive international order.

We are confident that this 15th BRICS Summit will advance the cause of common prosperity and progress.

We are confident that this 15th BRICS Summit will enrich and inspire our work towards the achievement of a more humane global community.

I thank you.

Your Excellencies, Leaders of the BRICS nations,
Your Excellencies, Leaders from across Africa,
Your Excellencies, Leaders of the Global South,
Representatives of global and regional institutions,
Honourable Ministers,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
 
Good Evening.

Thank you for accepting my invitation to join us tonight as we celebrate being together on a night which I trust you will find joyful and pleasant.

It is also a night when we thank you for joining the BRICS countries prior to tomorrow’s BRICS Outreach programme.

The BRICS group of countries incorporates the peoples, cultures and traditions of more than 3 billion people. 

We are united by our common vision and common goals.

Our diversity is our greatest strength, and tonight you will get to experience the rich tapestry of cultures, traditions and foods of South Africa.

Our head chef tonight is Wandile Mabaso, a world class chef who pairs classical French techniques with the wonderful flavours of South Africa.

He is joined by Xolani Mancotywa, a qualified beverage steward and chef who has reimagined traditional African cuisine and authentic African fine dining.

Your culinary journey of South Africa follows a cultural journey across our nation's diverse cultures.

We hope that this evening you will experience South Africa's story, one that interweaves our many different cultures, traditions and languages as the foundation of an inclusive nation.

It is a story that reflects the nature and purpose of BRICS, which values partnership and cooperation in a spirit of openness and solidarity.

As BRICS - and all of Your Excellencies who have joined us tonight from many countries - we will all tomorrow articulate how we will foster change in the world for the benefit of all the peoples of the world.

Tonight is a night when we have even more reason to celebrate as BRICS partners.

A few hours ago this afternoon, India made history as the first country to successfully land a lunar module on the south pole of the Moon.

We congratulate Prime Minister Modi, the government and people of India and the Indian Space Research Organisation on the success of the Chandraayan-3 mission.

Pushing forward the frontiers of scientific endeavour is integral to human progress.

In anticipation of this great achievement Prime Minister Modi proposed at our BRICS Summit this afternoon that BRICS should set up a Space Exploration Commission where, as BRICS countries, we can share knowledge and experiences.

The more we learn about this world we live in and beyond, the greater our capacity to improve it and to elevate the human condition.

In the words of the great poet and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore: “We are in a palace which has no end, but which we have reached. By exploring it and extending our relationship with it, we are ever making it more and more our own.”

This and many other achievements enable us to move forward to prosperity, to progress and to peace.

Once again welcome and please do enjoy this celebration of unity, diversity and shared progress.

I thank you.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has arrived in Luanda, in the Republic of Angola, to participate in a summit of Southern African leaders who will focus on sustainable industrialisation of the region.

The 43rd Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community is themed “Human and financial capital: The key drivers for sustainable industrialisation of the SADC Region”. The Summit will be preceded by the Troika Summit of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation today, Wednesday 16 August 2023.

President Ramaphosa, as the outgoing Chairperson of the SADC Organ, will also attend the Troika Summit.

The Organ Troika Summit, will discuss the political and security situation in the region with particular focus on the Kingdom of Lesotho, Kingdom of Eswatini, Mozambique (SADC Mission in Mozambique) and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Organ Troika Summit will also reflect on consolidation of democracy in SADC and deliberate the socio-economic outlook for the Community.

Other activities of the Summit include the announcement of the 2022 SADC Secondary School Essay Competition, the Media Awards and the presentation of the Medal of Honour to one of the SADC Founders – the late and first President of the Republic of Botswana, His Excellency, Sir Seretse Khama. President Ramaphosa is accompanied by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor, the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Ms Thandi Modise, and the Minister in Presidency responsible for State Security, Ms Khumbudzo Ntshavheni.

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President - 082 835 6315

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria

Your Excellency, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva,
Your Excellency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
Ministers and Officials,
Business Leaders,
Friends,
 
It is a great honour to participate in this Leaders’ Session of the BRICS Business Forum.
 
I thank you all for your attendance and participation.
 
The BRICS group of countries exists not only to strengthen government-to-government relations, but also to forge stronger ties between the peoples of our five nations. It is for this reason that several bodies have been established to enable cooperation across society. 
 
The BRICS Business Council is a vital and vibrant platform for strengthening economic ties between our respective countries and in forging common perspectives on inclusive economic growth and development.
 
The changes that have taken place in BRICS economies over the past decade have done much to transform the shape of the global economy. 
 
Together, the BRICS countries make up a quarter of the global economy, they account for a fifth of global trade and are home to more than 40 per cent of the world’s population.
 
As we celebrate the 15th anniversary of BRICS, trade between BRICS countries totaled some $162 billion last year. 
 
Foreign investment has played an important role in the growth of BRICS economies.
 
Total annual foreign direct investment into BRICS countries is four times greater than it was 20 years ago. 
 
However, the new wave of protectionism and the subsequent impact of unilateral measures that are incompatible with WTO rules undermine global economic growth and development. 
 
We therefore need to reaffirm our position that economic growth must be underpinned by transparency and inclusiveness. It must be compatible with a multilateral trading system that supports a developmental agenda.
 
We require a fundamental reform of the global financial institutions so that they can be more agile and responsive to the challenges facing developing economies.
 
In this respect, the New Development Bank, established by BRICS countries in 2015, is leading the way. Since its formation it has demonstrated its ability to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development in emerging economies without conditionalities.
 
BRICS economies have emerged as powerful engines of global growth.
 
Yet the rapid economic, technological and social changes underway create new risks for employment, equality and poverty in many BRICS countries. 
 
We therefore call on the business community to join hands with us to identify solutions to these and other challenges affecting our respective economies.
 
From a South African perspective, there is massive untapped potential for investment in our country and on the African continent.
 
In recognition of this potential, the theme for this 15th BRICS Summit is:
‘BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development, and Inclusive Multilateralism’.
 
Africa is a continent of great opportunity in the industrialisation process in a variety of sectors. 
 
Africa is a continent rich in the critical minerals that will drive business success in the 21st Century. 
 
The continent has resources of lithium, vanadium, cobalt, platinum, palladium, nickel, copper, rare earth minerals, rhodium and many others.
 
African countries have made it clear that the investors of choice are those who will process the resources here, close to source.
 
We are developing stronger regional value-chains that will connect a number of African countries, providing investors with diversity, strength and resilience. 
 
The African Continental Free Trade Area creates a single market that is expected to grow to 1.7 billion people and nearly $7 trillion in consumer and business spending by 2030.
 
The success of the African Continental Free Trade Area will require a massive investment in infrastructure. We need to mobilise the substantial financing needed to build the roads, ports, rail, energy and telecommunications networks that will enable industrialisation and trade.
 
Growth in African economies will be driven in the main by small and medium enterprises. This requires focused and effective support to these businesses. It is important that specific financing be directed to women-owned businesses so that they can harness the benefits of the continental free trade area.
 
Africa has a young, digitally-connected and urbanising population, which provides a stable workforce for companies in future. The investment in skills development is growing.
 
These factors all position Africa as the next frontier of productivity and growth.
 
BRICS countries have an opportunity to contribute to and participate in Africa’s growth story. This can be achieved through greater cooperation in areas such as infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, new energy and the digital economy.
 
South Africa has an important position in this growing African market, facilitated by the African Continental Free Trade Area and other free trade agreements. 
 
South Africa's industrial strength, our mineral endowments and our large market opportunities provide a compelling value-proposition for companies wanting to establish their businesses here. 
 
South Africa has significant industrial capacity, with Africa’s most advanced industrial innovation and fabrication base. 
 
Firms that have invested here recognise that South Africa has deep local capital markets and strong financial systems. We have a diverse and sophisticated economy.
 
South Africa possesses world-class infrastructure, skills, abundant natural resources, industrial clusters and a host of incentives to support investment. 
 
Many investment and partnership opportunities exist in renewable energy, infrastructure, aquaculture, ICT, automotives, pharmaceuticals and advanced manufacturing, among others. 
 
It is clear from the report that we have received that this has been a most productive Business Forum.
 
I commend the BRICS Business Council, the respective Ministers and officials and all the business leaders that continue to contribute to this valuable work.
 
I sincerely hope that your participation in this BRICS Business Forum will yield the productive outcomes required for us to catapult BRICS economies towards more equitable and accelerated growth.
 
I thank you.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his sadness at the passing of Mr Johaar Mosaval, the retired, pioneering dancer and Esteemed Member of the National Order of Ikhamanga. President Ramaphosa offers his deep condolences to the family and associates nationally and internationally of Mr Mosaval who has passed away at the age of 95.

In 2019, President Ramaphosa bestowed the National Order of Ikhamanga (Gold) on Mr Mosaval for his exceptional contribution to the performing arts, particularly ballet dancing. His exceptional talent led him to be the first black South African to become a senior principal dancer at the Royal Ballet in the United Kingdom.

A resident of District Six, Mr Mosaval was the first black South African to become a senior principal dancer at the Royal Ballet, which is the highest rank in the profession at one of the world’s most prestigious classical ballet companies. His journey to the Royal Ballet at the height of apartheid saw him dancing for Queen Elizabeth II and being the first black performer on the ‘whites-only’ Nico Malan stage in the 1970s.

He performed, mostly as a soloist, all over the globe, and has shared the stage with the likes of prima ballerina’s Margot Fonteyn, Elaine Fifield and Doreen Wells. He became revered for his wide-ranging styles and flawless technique and was chosen to dance in Benjamin Britten’s Opera Gloriana, the first performance presented at the Royal Opera House, London, in 1953, during the celebrations of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

After two years in London, Mr Mosaval excelled at his studies and returned home in 1976. He started teaching in Mitchells Plain and Paarl in the Western Cape. While dancing in Michel Fokine’s Petruskha, Mosaval’s contract stated that he was not allowed to touch a white ballet dancer with his bare hands. By 1975, the theatre allowed all races onto its premises, but black people required a permit to enter. As a result, the boycott of the theatre lasted until the end of apartheid.

Mr Mosaval opened his own ballet school in 1977 and was employed as the first black Inspector of Schools of Ballet under the then Administration of Coloured Affairs. He resigned from this position when he discovered that he could share his expertise only with a certain segment of the population. Subsequently, the apartheid regime closed his school because it was multiracial.

Following the principles of his mentor, Dulcie Howes, Mosaval wanted to share his knowledge and love of ballet with students of all races, so he continued to find ways to dance and to teach.

President Ramaphosa said: “The passing of Johaar Mosaval is a great loss to our nation’s cultural treasury. “Johaar Mosaval was an outstanding human being and creative who complimented his personal achievements with a deep interest in developing the communities in which he lived and performed.

“His life story is one that fills us at one level with pride and inspiration but which also reopens for us the inhumanity and hurt that apartheid inflicted on individuals and entire sectors of our society, including our cultural life and the performing arts. “Under difficult conditions, Johaar Mosaval enjoyed and leveraged his life of celebrity to create a legacy of service to the people of Cape Town and our nation more broadly. May he rest in peace.”

Media enquiries: Vincent Magwenya, Spokesperson to the President – 082 835 6315

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria