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Brics must use collective strength for benefit of the people, says Zuma

───   06:35 Mon, 17 Oct 2016

Brics must use collective strength for benefit of the people, says Zuma | News Article

Goa - The Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) grouping of countries need to harness their collective strength to improve the conditions of their people, President Jacob Zuma said on Sunday.


Brics constituted almost half of the global population and its combined demographic dividend represented a real advantage for future growth. Brics also served as an engine for global growth through empowering future consumer classes, he told the Brics leaders’ plenary session at the 8th Brics summit currently underway in Goa, India.

“It is our responsibility to harness our collective strength to improve the conditions of our people. In this regard, Brics countries should become centres of cultural innovation and exchange and creativity, driven by people-to-people interaction.

“We also encourage the development of strong new and indigenous knowledge systems and knowledge sharing initiatives among ourselves,” Zuma said.

“Our Brics think tanks council has recommended to us that we consider an innovative framework for the governance of new spaces and commons, notably the outer space, deep ocean, and the Internet.

“Given the contestations in these spaces, we appeal that enhanced functional co-operation becomes the motive and incentive for developing these spaces in order to serve humanity, especially its most deprived citizens.”

In Africa, coastal communities faced the dire consequences of climate change and required urgent funding to adapt to the various problems. It was important that developing countries became partners in this process and that the related global value chains included the owners of natural resources to also be the beneficiaries thereof.

“We also need to empower our vulnerable groups who are most impacted by poverty, climate change, and the global economic crisis among other challenges,” he said.

South Africa’s participation in Brics was interlinked with the development objectives of Africa as reflected in Agenda 2063, which was the continent’s blueprint for economic and technological transformation.

Significant opportunities on the continent presented themselves. However, the continent’s full potential would remain unfulfilled unless the problems related to inadequate infrastructure, small and fragmented markets, under-developed production structures, and inadequate economic diversification were addressed.

“In this regard, the establishment of the New Development Bank Africa Regional Centre in South Africa is welcomed and timely as it will pay particular attention to Africa’s needs in respect of industrialisation and infrastructure as well as sustainable development,” Zuma said.

Earlier, he told the Brics Business Council it was gratifying to see the progress made by the council since its launch in South Africa in 2013.

“The establishment of the seven working groups and the various activities and initiatives undertaken clearly demonstrate the commitment by members of the council to cement business ties among our countries.

“The council was created as a platform to strengthen and promote Brics economic, trade, and investment links and to support regular dialogue between Brics business communities and governments. This mandate is being fulfilled and today’s [Sunday] engagement is also a reflection of the continued commitment by Brics leaders to this initiative,” Zuma said.

ANA

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