President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa at the expanded meeting of BRICS leaders during the 16th BRICS summit held in Kazan, Russia October 23, 2024. Picture: Grigory Sysoev, brics-russia2024.
Cyril Ramaphosa
Allow me to begin by thanking President Putin and the people of Russia for hosting the 16th BRICS Summit in this beautiful city of Kazan.
It is fitting that we hold the BRICS Summit in a city so rich in heritage and culture as we embrace this new chapter in BRICS as an expanded family of countries equally rich in history, culture and capability.
Our story is a story of solidarity, mutual respect and mutual benefit.
BRICS is an inclusive formation that has the ability to change the trajectory of the Global South.
To do this, we must realise the full potential of our economic partnership to ensure sustainable development for all.
We must undertake bold steps towards a mutual, shared and equitable prosperity.
Like most of the world, South Africa desires the smooth operation of supply chains, trade, tourism, and financial flows free from external influence in a multipolar world.
Working together, BRICS has an important role in addressing the key challenges of the Global South in partnership with like-minded emerging market countries.
We look forward to the report back by our Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors on the use of local currencies in international trade and financial transactions between BRICS members and their trading partners.
A few days ago, BRICS Business entities gathered in Moscow, under the stewardship of the BRICS Business Council, to explore tangible trade opportunities between our countries.
For South Africa, these endeavours – which are focused on practical results – are critical in addressing our country’s central national priority of inclusive economic growth.
For us, inclusive growth means, among other things, prioritising women-led businesses.
In this regard, we acknowledge the diligent work of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance to unlock economic value between the BRICS countries for the development, growth and sustainability of women-owned businesses.
As we seek sustainable development solutions, we must acknowledge the challenges posed by climate change.
We must acknowledge the devastating impact on lives and livelihoods of our current climate trajectory.
As South Africa, we remain committed to a just transition to a low carbon economy.
We are committed to the reduction of global emissions, guided by the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.
While countries with developing economies remain severely impacted by climate change, they have contributed the least to the current climate crisis.
It is therefore vital that industrialised nations honour their climate commitments and ensure a just and equitable transition.
It is essential that climate actions do not deepen global inequality or stifle the developmental aspirations of the Global South.
To achieve the objectives of the BRICS Strategy for Economic Partnership 2025, we must further explore pathways to unlock opportunities and address challenges confronted by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in BRICS countries.
We must intensify cooperation among BRICS members by launching common development programmes in the fields of exports, industrial cooperation and technology exchange.
We have called for the recalibration of trade rules to enable industrialisation.
We must enhance beneficiation of mineral endowments of BRICS countries closest to source. This is important for development and for the advancement of our decarbonisation goals.
The unique role of the New Development Bank as a multinational development bank is pivotal to the development aspirations of our group and emerging markets and developing economies at large.
We commend the work and progress achieved by the New Development Bank under the excellent leadership of Ms Dilma Rousseff.
It is one of the finest examples of the value of the BRICS group in supporting the growth and development of countries of the Global South.
These achievements must encourage and inspire us to do more, and to make BRICS an even more effective instrument for global progress.
This is an edited version of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s statement to the 16th BRICS Heads of State BRICS Summit Open Plenary on 23 October 2024, Kazan, Russia.