Why SA must ace the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg next week
Next week’s 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg is a golden opportunity for the country to claw back much-needed investment.
South Africa is pulling out all the stops for the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg next week. The goal is to convince the member states that the country can deliver on its investment promises. Doing so could attract large-scale financial injection into the infrastructure and manufacturing sectors.
15TH BRICS SUMMIT IN JOHANNESBURG
The summit is an opportunity for South Africa to sit with government leaders, stated-owned companies and private-sector businesses from the four other member nations. Brazil, Russia, India and China make up the partnership and will discuss potential partnerships for mutually beneficial growth between the nations.
PREPARATION IS ON-GOING
The BRICS Business Council has held a number of engagements in the build-up to the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg. Most importantly was the Infrastructure Working Group which said it wanted to learn from the BRICS Summit on creating a stable regulatory framework to bridge the infrastructure gap and accelerate development in South Africa.
BANKABLE PROJECTS
Zodwa Mbele, speaking to Independent on behalf of the Infrastructure Working Group said: “It’s not the money that’s the problem. Everyone wants to fund bankable projects, but it’s about how to bring the projects to bankability.”
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On the manufacturing front, Chairperson of the Manufacturing Working Group, Lesetja Mogoba told Independent that SA’s prowess was at a global level. “If South Africa can leverage that at the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, we can reach a level of scale we have not yet reached before by embracing the fourth industrial revolution,” said Mogoba.
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Mogoba concluded that although the trade balance among the BRICS nations was generally tipped in China’s favour, there are mutually beneficial deals to be made between all the nations.
The 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg takes place from August 22-24, 2023 at the Sandton Convention Centre. We will bring you all the news as it takes place.