Honourable Premier Cassel Mathale,
Honourable Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ebrahim Ebrahim,
Executive Mayor of Polokwane Freddie Greaver
Mayor of Capricorn District Municipality Lawrence Mapoulo
Distinguished guests,
Members of the media,
Ladies and gentlemen
Foreign policy development in the 21st century is a multidimensional endeavour with states using different avenues to pursue their various interests. Many issues in the global arena are best addressed only through bilateral interactions and others requiring multilateral forums. This is what guides our foreign relations.
Let me firstly take this opportunity to extend my sincere appreciation to the Government of the Province Limpopo for allowing us the opportunity to interact and engage with the people of this province on the upcoming Brazil, Russian Federation, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) Summit taking place for the first time in South Africa in Durban on 26 and 27 March 2013.
We deem it necessary and important that we engage with you, the people of South Africa, when we host important international conferences like this one. We do this because we strongly believe that foreign policy like any other Government policy, should reflect the views of all people irrespective of their position in our society. In the next few days, we will be visiting all provinces of our country in a consultation process about this Summit. We want to ensure that your views are taken into consideration in the outcome of the Summit.
Programme Director, BRICS is an association of emerging economies. The BRICS member states are developing and newly industrialised countries notable by their fast growing economies. The BRICS bloc can be described as the defenders and promoters of the developing countries and transformation of global governance.
South Africa, as a country, officially joined the BRICS bloc on 24 December 2010. The BRICS partnership contributes to leveraging economic opportunities for our nation’s development agenda as well as that of the African
continent. Our partnership with BRICS is premised on three levels of engagement which is nationally, regionally and globally.
The BRICS partnership is focused on three levels of international engagements, firstly on bilateral level to strengthen intra-BRICS trade and mutual beneficial economic relations. Secondly, regional level promoting infrastructure development programmes with initiatives such as the proposed BRICS-led development bank and at multilateral level creating platforms for dialogue and cooperation amongst the emerging powers.
We joined the BRIC grouping because of its economic significance and constructive political activity such as its engagement in African issues and international agenda. South Africa’s incorporation to the group will expand the geographic representation of the mechanism in time when we are looking at the international level, financial system reform and generally, the increasing democratisation of global governance.
Our economic potential, political opportunities and development prospects as an association and as a forum are exceptional and also open for new horizons for expanding cooperation. South Africa’s admission to the BRICS grouping will assist in pushing issues of global concern like those relating to the World Trade Organisation and climate change where developing countries have different views.
The underlying principle for South Africa’s partnership with BRICS is the role of emerging economies in international relations. It is aimed at advancing the restructuring of the global, political, economic and financial architecture into a more equitable, balanced and rests on significant multilateralism pillar and is also of crucial importance to other BRICS member states.
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
We should also remember that members of BRIC as some of the countries characterised as the emerging powers have travelled with us in the struggle against colonialism. Over the years strong ties for solidarity and partnerships have been forged with them to promote and enhance development and transformation of the global governance.
The BRICS grouping provides for a new global pattern focusing on South-South relations and caucus on overriding previous East-West and North-South constructs and divisions.
BRICS member countries represent about 43% of the world population and approximately one fifth of the global Gross Domestic Production (GDP) and undoubtedly the bloc contributed 11% of foreign direct investment of world trade in 2012.
On the economic forum, the world views South Africa as the Gateway to the African market. South Africa as well as the African continent, is now emerging as the fastest growing markets due to the demographic basis and the new emerging consumer markets.
Africa is the fastest growing power after Asia and offers the highest returns on investments than any region. The African continent constitutes 60% of the world’s unused arable agricultural land. In 2010 six of the world’s fastest growing economies emanated from Africa and Africa’s output is expected to expand by 50% over the next four years. Economic growth is expected to expand by an average of 5.5% annually in the next five years.
It is therefore necessary that we understand the global socio-economic and political significance of the BRICS partnership. The exponential growth of BRICS in the near future will considerably impact on the future of the emerging markets and developing countries especially Africa. Various International Monetary Fund (IMF) studies have highlighted the severity of the recent global financial crises and that through the BRICS interaction low income countries have weathered it.
President Jacob Zuma, at the fourth BRICS Summit in New Delhi in India met with the BRICS Captains of Industry and invited companies from the BRICS countries to invest in Africa and to join hands with South Africa in the development of the African continent and pointed out the infrastructure sector.
In the Sanya declaration the BRICS leaders have reflected support for the African infrastructure development and industrialisation within the framework of New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). The declaration further pointed out the highest support for economic growth, peace and stability in Africa and supports development of the African continent. The leaders pledged to support the efforts to sustain the acceleration of diversification and modernisation of the African economies, through infrastructure development, knowledge exchange and increased access to technology, enhanced capacity building and investment in human capital.
In the fourth BRICS Summit in India, New Delhi, BRICS was declared as the platform for dialogue and cooperation amongst the developing countries representing 43% of the world’s population for the promotion of development, peace, security in an inter-dependent and complex global world.
The theme for the fifth BRICS Summit is BRICS and Africa- partnerships for integration and industrialisation. We wish to align our interests in supporting the integration agenda in Africa and not just focusing on access to our resources. With the theme for the Durban Summit focusing on Africa, this can mean that South Africa is actually playing the role everyone assumed we would when we joined BRICS in 2010.
Ahead of the fifth BRICS Summit, four key focus areas have been highlighted as the African infrastructure development, the BRICS-led development bank, BRICS Think-Tank and a Business Council.
In line with our goals in achieving regional integration and enhancing BRICS-African interactions, the African Union along with the some African Regional Groupings such as East African Community (EAC), Common market for Eastern and Central Africa (COMESA), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have been invited to attend the Durban Summit. During the Summit there will also be meeting with the African leaders and BRICS leaders in the context of NEPAD for the African infrastructure development.
The plans for the proposed Development Bank with starting capital of $50 billion are well under way. The Business Council will be launched on the 27 of March in Durban Summit if the BRICS leaders have agreed on the idea. On the sideline of the Summit, there will be an academic conference taking place and in this regard, academics from universities in all BRICS countries will have opportunity to engage on matter of their interests.
Our membership of BRICS should be understood in a context of our objectives and our wish to alleviate the challenges we are currently faced with as a continent. The complex nature of our challenges has compelled the South African government to single out infrastructure as key vehicle for improved quality of life which is also expected to create jobs and heighten our competitiveness.
In conclusion, BRICS leaders already indicated support for the Sanya declaration for African infrastructure development and industrialisation within the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) framework. The leaders have declared their support for the advancement of the diversification and modernisation of the African economies through infrastructure development and increase to access to technology.
With South Africa’s unique history, independent foreign policy, we bring our own experience and perspective to the BRICS collaboration. I wish to add that South Africans are urged to come together and support this prestigious event as it brings development not just for us but for the whole African continent.
I thank you
