Statement by His Excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa during the Opening Session of the 13th BRICS Summit

Your Excellency Prime Minister Modi,
Your Excellency President Xi,
Your Excellency President Bolsonaro,
Your Excellency President Putin,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

We thank India for convening this virtual 13th BRICS Summit.

We are meeting in unprecedented times.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on human life, livelihoods, economies and communities around the world.

As much as we have known sorrow and hardship, we have also known solidarity and cooperation.

Our collective response has demonstrated what can be achieved when we work together.

All tracks of our BRICS cooperation have been orientated towards concrete responses to the pandemic.

As the BRICS countries, we must continue to safeguard people’s lives and livelihoods, support global economic recovery and enhance the resilience of all our public systems.

We must ensure equal access to COVID-19 vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics.

We each need to contribute our fair share to the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator and support the TRIPS waiver at the WTO to ensure a rapid expansion of COVID-19 vaccine production across the world.

We welcome the decision of our Ministers of Health to operationalise a virtual BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Centre.

The pandemic has reinforced our belief that representative multilateralism is key to a sustainable future for all.

We therefore welcome the Joint Statement on Strengthening and Reforming the Multilateral System issued by our Foreign Ministers in June.

We call on BRICS to be equally bold and determined in seeking reform of the United Nations Security Council, among other things to enable Africa to take its rightful place among the collective of nations in this crucial body.

We are now in the final decade towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals.

We must remain focused on the attainment of better health outcomes, while also pursuing the goals of quality education, decent work, climate action, peace and justice.

Lastly, we must strengthen our cooperation, deepen our partnership and actively strive towards a world of better health, better opportunity and shared prosperity for all.

I thank you.


Issued by: The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa
Pretoria