By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor hailed South Africa for successfully hosting the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Summit.
The summit, was held in Sandton during the week, drew more than 60 heads of state, including the original BRICS members.
The bloc of emerging economies spent three days discussing ways to improve trade between member states and addressing calls for a new world order.
Pandor said South Africa was honoured and privileged to host the Brics summit.
“All in all big success. Congratulations South Africa, well done on hosting a 15th Brics summit so well.”
She said one of the key values of the Brics summit was inclusion.
“Out of the South African chair, we’ve agreed to establish more sectoral bodies – one of them being the Women’s Business Alliance, which reported to the summit, and the youth council, which has been created with the leadership of Minister Dlamini-Zuma.”
Pandor said South Africa was “thrilled to have young voices at the opening and closing of the Brics Summit.”
“As president Cyril Ramaphosa said when he introduced the two, we are not just having Brics for now, but we are looking at Brics well into the future, and the presence of those young people confirms that we have a forward-looking approach to this forum,” Pandor said.
Pandor stated that the focus is now on the future of BRICS as the remainder of South Africa as the chair of BRICS until December.
“We have agreed to establish more sectoral bodies, one of them being the Women’s Business Alliance, which reported to the summit, and the youth council, which has been created.
“We are not looking at BRICS for now, but we are looking at BRICS well into the future, and the presence of those young people confirms that we have a forward looking approach to this forum.”
The group announced Thursday that six countries are set to join the group in 2024: Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Egypt and Ethiopia.
The move, which will more than double the size of the bloc, will likely throw more scrutiny on Beijing’s political influence in the Persian Gulf.
Recently, questions have been raised about whether BRICS is taking an anti-West turn under the influence of China and Russia, amid Beijing’s deteriorating relationship with the United States and Russia’s standoff with the West over the war in Ukraine.
The Additions will also increase the group’s economic clout. BRICS, which was set up in 2009, currently represents around 40% of the world’s population and more than a quarter of the world’s GDP. That is set to increase with the new members, which include three of the world’s biggest oil producers in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Iran.