The 15th BRICS Summit of Emerging Economies has kicked off at the Sandton Convention Centre today.
The Summit is an international relations conference where leaders of five member nations, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, meet.
South Africa will host the leaders of Brazil, India, and China for the Tuesday to Thursday summit, while Russian President Vladimir Putin will join virtually.
While the BRICS Summit is a meeting of heads of State and Government, not open to the public, the BRICS business forum has a business programme around the Summit.
Speaking at the opening of the Summit, Minister of Trade and Industry Ebrahim Patel said the BRICS Business Council meets today with grounds for optimism about the future.
‘’Africa is no longer simply a raw material supplier, but Africa is taking its place in the world as an innovator. The world has struggles, but the world also has brave individuals to confront those troubles. We can make our future.
‘’Today, the Business Forum presents an opportunity to consider how companies and firms in our economies can help us to grow and prosper through collaboration partnerships,’’ he said.
Brazil Minister of Finance Fernando Haddad said Brazil believes in clean energy.
‘’We process biodiesel. We have green deals, and we have started with green hydrogen. There is a big participation in using technology for green energy. We would like to export clean energy and products,’’ he said.
He said Brazil had all the necessary minerals for the transition, and Africa and South America could help in diversification.
‘’It is important for the BRICS countries to have diversification. I think the contribution to BRICS is important. We need as the countries to develop ways to unite the BRICS countries. We have to respect each other's differences,’’ Haddad said.
Meanwhile, BRICS Business Council SA chairperson Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa said the Business Council had curated panels and sessions which would investigate rules and regulations required to establish a working framework that can help to accelerate trade and investment.
‘’In an increasingly interconnected world, it is important for the first nation to come together to build extremely economic partnerships, and unlock new opportunities, shifts and overcoming shared challenges exploring cultural development and synergies nations.
“It is an alternative to the critical issues facing through the promotion of technological advancements through agricultural finance, maturing you can revolutionise the agricultural practices that ensure that we have good security for our nations,’’ she said.
BUSINESS REPORT