BRICS Summit to focus on opening Africa’s market to global investment
By Lizzy Okoji
Opening Africa’s market to global investors, unlocking trade barriers on the continents will top discussions when Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, the BRICS nation, meet in Johannesburg, South-Africa, in August.
Ms Busi Mabuza, the Chair of the South African BRICS Business Council, disclosed this in a virtual interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday.
Mabuza said that the 2023 BRICS Summit in August would centre on the theme “BRICS and Africa Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism”.
She explained that the goal is to create attractive opportunities for foreign investment, boost export capacities of countries in the continent in order to expand Africa’s economy and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate.
The SA BRICS Council Chair said that the council also intend to adopt a pragmatic approach in addressing trade patterns that would see all partner markets and Africa benefiting from the BRICS cooperation.
Mabuza said that it would be a knowledge sharing meeting, with African nations also taking notes for the successes of other BRICS nations to improve their own economy and market.
“This is the third time that South Africa will be hosting the BRICS nations and each time it has been BRICS and Africa because we believe in the attractiveness of this continent not just one to an economy of its own.
“We are going to be having experts from the BRICS nations coming in and including our own. We do have experts on the African continent that can add value to all of these discussions.
“They are going to be discussions around the impact of climate change, agro-business, on farming, discussions around how to create geoprocessing units so that you are not just exporting the raw produce, the raw foods, it is important to export the processed ones as well.
“So, we expect that the experts would be sharing that knowledge with us.
“But what is critically important is that when we close those engagements, we go out and implement as a continent,” Mabuza said.
She said that although South Africa is the only African nation in the BRICS formation, it has remained a voice of the continent in the bloc.
“We believe in the attractiveness of this continent is not just one to an economy of its own.
“And with the African Continental Free Trade Area, now kicking into implementation gear, I believe that our composition to the preparedness is going to be much more compending than perhaps it has been in the past.
“What is going to be different this time is that we have composed that the focus on trade and investment needs to be sharpened.
“The BRICS economies have grown immeasurably since we joined the BRICS formation, however, a translation on the trade and investment side for the continent has been a bit lopsided and our partners agree that it is time that we focus on rebalancing that.
“They also need to take some value-added materials from us, we are taking value added materials from them and I believe that it is a good thing for us and transforming on that front,” Mabuza said.
NAN reports that the BRICS 2023 Summit under the Chair of South Africa would be inviting 20 Heads of State, multilateral and international partners to the event. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola
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