DEVELOPMENT DEBATES AND ISSUES
DVA 4801
ASSESSMENT 03
DISCUSS THE BRICS INITIATIVE AND SOUTH AFRICA’S ROLE IN IT, AND HOW
THE INITIATIVE CAN HELP ADVANCE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GLOBAL
SOUTH.
INTRODUCTION
BRICS is an amalgamation of 5 nations such as Brazil, Russia, India, China and
South Africa and is an international initiative known for its influence on supra-
regional affairs. The BRICS initiative has adequate financial capacity and technical
support to assist in economic cooperation with developing countries. BRICS focuses
its resources not only on economic development, but also on political aspects and
international politics.
THE ROLE OF SOUTH AFRICA IN BRICS
South Africa has an important role to play within the BRICS grouping, both as a
gateway to the continent and as a catalyst for African integration. South Africa has a
big role to play within the grouping and probably quite a lot of responsibility for being
a sort of real gateway to help the rest of Africa become more successful.
On 27 March 2013, South Africa hosted the fifth BRICS Summit and assumed the
BRICS Presidency for 2013 to 2014, which requires us to provide strategic
leadership to the BRICS agenda. Moreover, the fifth summit concluded the first cycle
of summits and represents an opportune moment to reflect on the achievements of
BRICS to date (Besada, Winters and Tok, 2013). BRICS has evolved into a major
catalyst for global change that has captured the imagination of the global community
in a relatively short period of time. In the 2013 eThekwini Declaration, BRICS leaders
clearly articulated their vision for BRICS to provide solutions to global challenges and
promote a new paradigm of international relations: “We have come together at a time
that requires us to consider issues of common concern and systemic issues. the
, importance of sharing interests and developing lasting solutions. Our goal is to
progressively develop BRICS into a full-fledged mechanism of current and long-term
coordination in a wide range of key issues of the world economy and politics. The
prevailing architecture of global governance is regulated by institutions that were
created in circumstances where the global landscape in all its aspects was
characterized by very different challenges and opportunities."
BRICS provides an amplified voice to the interests of emerging players to participate
in the formulation of global agendas. South Africa's membership has strengthened
the political component of BRICS negotiations since we were invited to participate in
the Sanya Summit. We have also received support from our BRICS partners for
African peace, security and development issues, which are mainly part of the United
Nations Security Council (UNSC) agenda. The fifth BRICS summit was also the first
BRICS summit held on the African continent and coincides with the celebration of the
50th anniversary of the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and
(AU Chun, 2013). That is why we proposed the theme for the Fifth BRICS Summit,
“BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Development, Integration and Industrialization”.
The South African Cabinet adopted the BRICS Strategy in 2012, which informs our
engagement with the grouping. Our BRICS membership is focused on four levels of
engagement:
1) Strengthen political and economic relations at the domestic level;
2) At the regional level, strengthen the African agenda and support the sustainable
development of Africa with an emphasis on continental and regional infrastructure
development programs;
3) Promote global governance reform a
4) Strengthen cooperation within BRICS from an organizational point of view. Our
domestic drivers for BRICS engagement address the triple challenges of our
apartheid legacy of poverty, inequality and job creation through the key growth areas
outlined in our New Growth Path (NGP).
While South Africa's economic ties with traditional trading partners remain important,
the country's prospects for growth and development will increasingly depend on
DVA 4801
ASSESSMENT 03
DISCUSS THE BRICS INITIATIVE AND SOUTH AFRICA’S ROLE IN IT, AND HOW
THE INITIATIVE CAN HELP ADVANCE THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE GLOBAL
SOUTH.
INTRODUCTION
BRICS is an amalgamation of 5 nations such as Brazil, Russia, India, China and
South Africa and is an international initiative known for its influence on supra-
regional affairs. The BRICS initiative has adequate financial capacity and technical
support to assist in economic cooperation with developing countries. BRICS focuses
its resources not only on economic development, but also on political aspects and
international politics.
THE ROLE OF SOUTH AFRICA IN BRICS
South Africa has an important role to play within the BRICS grouping, both as a
gateway to the continent and as a catalyst for African integration. South Africa has a
big role to play within the grouping and probably quite a lot of responsibility for being
a sort of real gateway to help the rest of Africa become more successful.
On 27 March 2013, South Africa hosted the fifth BRICS Summit and assumed the
BRICS Presidency for 2013 to 2014, which requires us to provide strategic
leadership to the BRICS agenda. Moreover, the fifth summit concluded the first cycle
of summits and represents an opportune moment to reflect on the achievements of
BRICS to date (Besada, Winters and Tok, 2013). BRICS has evolved into a major
catalyst for global change that has captured the imagination of the global community
in a relatively short period of time. In the 2013 eThekwini Declaration, BRICS leaders
clearly articulated their vision for BRICS to provide solutions to global challenges and
promote a new paradigm of international relations: “We have come together at a time
that requires us to consider issues of common concern and systemic issues. the
, importance of sharing interests and developing lasting solutions. Our goal is to
progressively develop BRICS into a full-fledged mechanism of current and long-term
coordination in a wide range of key issues of the world economy and politics. The
prevailing architecture of global governance is regulated by institutions that were
created in circumstances where the global landscape in all its aspects was
characterized by very different challenges and opportunities."
BRICS provides an amplified voice to the interests of emerging players to participate
in the formulation of global agendas. South Africa's membership has strengthened
the political component of BRICS negotiations since we were invited to participate in
the Sanya Summit. We have also received support from our BRICS partners for
African peace, security and development issues, which are mainly part of the United
Nations Security Council (UNSC) agenda. The fifth BRICS summit was also the first
BRICS summit held on the African continent and coincides with the celebration of the
50th anniversary of the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and
(AU Chun, 2013). That is why we proposed the theme for the Fifth BRICS Summit,
“BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Development, Integration and Industrialization”.
The South African Cabinet adopted the BRICS Strategy in 2012, which informs our
engagement with the grouping. Our BRICS membership is focused on four levels of
engagement:
1) Strengthen political and economic relations at the domestic level;
2) At the regional level, strengthen the African agenda and support the sustainable
development of Africa with an emphasis on continental and regional infrastructure
development programs;
3) Promote global governance reform a
4) Strengthen cooperation within BRICS from an organizational point of view. Our
domestic drivers for BRICS engagement address the triple challenges of our
apartheid legacy of poverty, inequality and job creation through the key growth areas
outlined in our New Growth Path (NGP).
While South Africa's economic ties with traditional trading partners remain important,
the country's prospects for growth and development will increasingly depend on
