00:00 Thank you, Program Director, Minister Ibrahim Patel, Your Excellency President Louise Lula
00:17 da Silva, Your Excellency Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Honourable Ministers and Business Leaders
00:34 and Your Excellency President of the New Development Bank, Ms Dilma Rousseff. I greet you all and
00:46 it's a great honour to have this opportunity to participate in this Leaders' Session of
00:53 the BRICS Forum. I particularly want to thank Mr Sim Chabalala for the report that he has
01:03 just given and particularly underline and appreciate the message that is coming from
01:12 all of you as business leaders about the immense opportunities that you see in investment across
01:25 the BRICS countries. The BRICS group of countries exists not only to strengthen government-to-government
01:35 relations but also to forge stronger ties between the peoples of our five nations. It
01:46 is for this reason that several bodies have been established since BRICS was formed to
01:56 enable cooperation across society, be it in business, be it in political parties, be it
02:06 in the social sector and also in the sporting sector. The BRICS Business Council is a vital
02:15 and vibrant platform for strengthening economic ties between our respective countries and
02:23 in forging common perspectives on inclusive economic growth and development as we have
02:32 heard from the report that has just been tabled by Mr Chabalala. The changes that have taken
02:41 place in BRICS economies over the past decade have done much to transform the shape of the
02:51 global economy. Together, the BRICS countries make up a quarter of the global economy. They
03:01 account for a fifth of global trade and are home to more than 40 percent of the world's
03:09 population. This agglomeration of these five countries has a major impact on various aspects
03:19 of global activity and life. As we celebrate the 15th anniversary of BRICS, trade between
03:30 BRICS countries totalled some $162 billion last year. Foreign investment has played an
03:39 important role in the growth of BRICS economies. Total annual foreign direct investment into
03:47 BRICS countries is four times greater than it was 20 years ago. However, the new wave
03:57 of protectionism and subsequent impact of unilateral measures that are incompatible
04:05 with WTO rules undermine the global economic growth and development. We therefore need
04:14 to reaffirm our position that economic growth must be underpinned by transparency, by inclusiveness.
04:27 It must be compatible with a multilateral trading system that supports a developmental
04:35 agenda, the type of developmental agenda that the five countries that are members of BRICS
04:44 have embraced right from the onset. We require a fundamental reform of the global financial
04:55 institutions so that they can be more agile and responsive to the challenges facing developing
05:02 economies. In this respect, the New Development Bank, established by BRICS countries in 2015,
05:12 is leading the way. Since its formation, it has demonstrated its ability to mobilize
05:21 resources for infrastructure and sustainable development in emerging economies without
05:29 conditionalities. Earlier, before coming into this session, I was speaking to the president
05:37 of the New Development Bank, and she was outlining to me how ready and willing the New Development
05:45 Bank is in terms of supporting the development agendas of various countries. And we applaud
05:56 this, and we appreciate this. BRICS economies have emerged as powerful engines of global
06:04 growth, yet the rapid economic, technological, social changes underway create new risks for
06:15 areas such as employment, equality, as well as poverty in many of the BRICS countries.
06:27 It is quite heartwarming to hear you as business people, as one listened to Mr. Chabalala's
06:35 report, also focusing on issues such as poverty reduction and elimination and inequality as
06:54 well. It isn't often that you hear such very positive and forward-looking messages from
07:03 the business community. So it's wonderful to be in a forum under the aegis of BRICS
07:12 that you as business leaders are in tune with the developmental agenda that needs to be
07:22 pursued to lift the people who live in BRICS countries and beyond out of the ravages of
07:31 poverty and inequality. We therefore call on the business community to join hands with
07:38 us to identify solutions to these and many other challenges affecting our respective
07:47 economies. From a South African perspective, there is massive untapped potential for investment
07:59 in our country and indeed on the African continent as well. In recognition of this potential,
08:12 the theme for this 15th BRICS Summit is BRICS and Africa, the Partnership for Mutually Accelerated
08:23 Growth, Sustainable Development and Inclusive Multilateralism. Africa is a continent of
08:33 great opportunity in industrialization process in a variety of sectors. This continent is
08:43 rich in the critical minerals that will drive business success in the 21st century. The
08:54 continent has resources of lithium, vanadium, cobalt, platinum, palladium, nickel, copper,
09:02 rare earth minerals, rhodium and many others. And these are the minerals that are bound
09:11 and are driving economic activity across the world. African countries have made it clear
09:20 that the investors of choice are those who will come and invest in our continent but
09:31 also process the resources here close to source so that African countries do not export rock
09:44 and sand but export finished products as we would like to do. We are developing stronger
09:54 regional value chains that will connect a number of African countries, providing investors
10:03 with diversity, with strength as well as with resilience. The African continental free trade
10:14 area creates a single market that is expected to grow to 1.7 billion people and nearly $7
10:29 trillion in consumer and business spending by 2030. The success of the African continental
10:40 free trade area will require a massive investment in infrastructure. We need to mobilize the
10:50 substantial financing that is needed to build the roads, the ports, the rail, energy and
11:02 telecommunications network that will enable industrialization and trade. It is also pleasing
11:10 to hear that you as a business community, you also see this area as opportunities that
11:22 you can invest in. Growth in African economies will be driven in the main by small and medium
11:31 enterprises. This requires focused as well as effective support to these businesses.
11:42 It is important that specific financing be directed also to women-owned businesses so
11:53 that they can harness the benefits of the continental free trade area. We in Africa,
12:05 as we grow and develop, we are focusing on the empowerment of the women of our continent
12:14 who have been held back through the years of colonialism and in our case through the
12:21 years of apartheid, through protocols and laws. We are saying we need to free the women
12:30 of our continent so that they can trade, so that they can be in business and grow the
12:38 economies of our various countries. Africa has a young digitally connected and urbanizing
12:46 population, a population which provides a stable workforce for companies in the future.
12:56 The investment in skills development is continuing to grow. These factors all position Africa
13:06 as the next frontier of productivity and growth. BRICS countries have an opportunity to contribute
13:17 to and participate in Africa's growth story. This can be achieved through greater cooperation
13:26 in areas such as infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, new energy and the digital
13:35 economy. I was pleased to hear that these are also areas that you as business people
13:44 are focusing on. South Africa has an important position in growing the African market facilitated
13:52 by the Africa continental free trade area and other free trade agreements. South Africa's
14:00 industrial strength, our mineral endowments and our large market opportunities provides
14:08 a compelling value proposition for companies wanting to establish their businesses here.
14:18 South Africa has significant industrial capacity with Africa's most advanced industrial innovation
14:27 and fabrication base. Firms that have invested here recognize that South Africa has deep
14:37 local capital markets and strong financial systems. We have a diverse and sophisticated
14:45 economy and this is world class infrastructure, skills, abundant natural resources, industrial
14:57 clusters and a host of incentives to support investment. And many investment and partnership
15:06 opportunities exist in renewable energy, in infrastructure, aquaculture and ICT, automotives,
15:17 pharmaceuticals and advanced manufacturing amongst others. It is clear from the report
15:23 that we have just received that this has been a very productive business forum and I'd like
15:31 to end to commend the BRICS Business Council, the respective ministers from the BRICS countries
15:40 and officials and all business leaders who have made a meaningful contribution for the
15:49 success of this business forum and to have all of you, almost 1,500 I'm told, to have
16:00 this what I see as a very successful business forum. I sincerely hope that your participation
16:08 in this BRICS business forum will yield the productive outcomes that are required for
16:16 us to catapult BRICS economies towards more equitable and accelerated growth. In two hours
16:26 or so, the BRICS leaders will sit together in a retreat to discuss a number of BRICS
16:35 related matters and one of those is the expansion of BRICS. A number of countries, some of which
16:46 are represented here, are seeking to be part of this BRICS family and we appreciate that.
16:56 It goes to show that the BRICS family is growing in its importance, in its stature and also
17:05 in its influence in the world and we will be taking into account the various desires
17:15 of various countries to be part of BRICS. So we hope to take into account the report
17:24 of your discussions here as well as we consider the way forward with BRICS. Your participation
17:32 here really strengthens the BRICS story. It confirms that BRICS is an important player
17:44 in the geopolitical and economic architecture of the world and so we hope that it will continue
17:53 to be so. Thank you very much for participating. We thank you.
17:57 [APPLAUSE]
