Johannesburg, 14 October 2024 | The South African BRICS Business Council (SABBC) is pleased to announce our participation in the upcoming BRICS Business Council (BBC) Annual meetings in Moscow, Russia (17-20th October 2024). The BBC Annual Meetings precede the XVI BRICS Summit which will be held in Kazan, Russia. The XVI BRICS Summit celebrates a pivotal moment as the first Summit of the expanded BRICS+, welcoming Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates into the fold. This enlargement strengthens BRICS+ as a global force, representing 46% of the world’s population and accounting for 35.6% of global GDP.
South Africa, a pivotal leader within BRICS+, is strategically positioned to amplify the voices of Africa and the Global South on the global stage. As the country prepares for its G20 Presidency in 2025, under the theme “Solidarity, Equality, and Sustainable Development”, South Africa remains steadfast in its commitment to advancing a more inclusive and equitable global governance framework. In alignment with the Pact for the Future, South Africa aims to drive sustainable development and strengthen multilateral cooperation, ensuring that the aspirations of developing nations are effectively represented and addressed within the global agenda.
As representatives of the South African business community, we are committed to promoting strong economic partnerships with our BRICS counterparts to drive mutual growth and enhanced trade. As we prepare to attend the BBC meetings, one of the key focuses on the Meetings will be on achieving the objectives set forth by the Working Groups established within the BBC. These Working Groups play a crucial role in identifying and addressing challenges, as well as creating opportunities for collaboration, trade, capacity building and investment among BRIC plus countries. Some of the important recommendations are in the following areas:
- Agribusiness: Towards food security through climate and environment-smart agriculture in BRICS countries: Best regional strategies. These include enhancing food security of BRICS countries considering applicable actions and goals discussed at COP28, developing climate change adaptation strategies for agriculture, and proposing guidelines for flagship BRICS international cooperation research projects on decarbonization technologies in agriculture.
- Skills Development, Applied Technology and Innovation: We are excited about the BRICS Future Skills and continuation to construct the BRICS Future Skills Training Activities and Training Bases in BRICS+ countries to establish a platform for BRICS+ future skills training, certification and best practices exchange within the BRICS+ countries, and to foster BRICS+ future skills talent development
Ms Busi Mabuza, the Chair SABBC, speaking to the “Team SA send -off to Russia gathering” mentioned that the “focus should be primarily on the need to deepen trade with the BRICS plus countries, which ultimately means promoting the South African industries, and when engaging with authorities, raising the export barriers that require their attention. As the SA businesses gather in Moscow, we must strengthen trade relationships with the BRICS plus countries, to unlock new opportunities for businesses across various sectors and drive economic growth in our respective countries”
Research from South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation, Research and Information department shows that South Africa’s total exports to other BRIC Plus economies increased rapidly (8.3% per year, on average) since 2017, reaching USD20.5 billion in 2023. The principal contributor to such growth was the significantly higher rate of increase and quantum of exports to China over this period. South Africa’s total imports from other BRICS Plus member states, in turn, expanded by 10.2% per year, on average, over the period 2017 – 2023, to reach USD35.4 billion in 2023. South Africa South Africa, at the same time recorded a deficit amounting to USD14.9 billion in its collective balance of trade with other BRIC Plus economies in 2023, over two times higher than the USD6.7 billion deficit reported in 2011.
The SABBC believes trade imbalance has an impact on the economic growth and job creation. Our relationship with BRIC plus countries should be one of the enablers in reducing trade deficit, driving economic growth. We recognize the challenges on some BRIC plus markets like the higher import tariffs and phytosanitary barriers, while some countries outside the BRIC plus enjoy preferential access. We continue to advocate for policies which can resolve these challenges at the government level and at the BRIC Annual meetings.
