Cape Town - International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor says BRICS nations must provide leadership in a world fractured by competition and geopolitical tensions.
Pandor said BRICS remained a key bloc as it seeks to build bridges with the global community.
She said their meeting as BRICS Foreign Ministers will focus on strengthening global governance systems.
Pandor, who was making the opening remarks at the start of the BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting in Cape Town on Thursday, had earlier had bilateral meetings with her counterparts.
Russia is led by Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Pandor had also met with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on the sidelines of the BRICS meeting.
Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that has expressed an intention to join BRICS.
Pandor had also met with Lavrov on the sidelines of the meeting.
She insisted that the BRICS summit will be held in Johannesburg.
She said the meeting of the foreign ministers was to prepare for the summit.
This is despite South Africa facing attention from the international community on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend.
Pandor said BRICS has to forge partnerships with the global community.
“Our discussions today will therefore focus on opportunities to strengthening and transforming global governance systems. We will also explore synergies between BRICS and G20 in a multi-polar world. We will look forward to solutions for sustainable and inclusive global economic recovery and hope to foster an environment of peace and development.
“We will also explore opportunities for de-risking BRICS institutions in the current financial landscape and look to bring fairness to global financial systems toward a world with less poverty, less inequality and more focus on development,” said Pandor.
“We will reflect on partnership and preparation between the BRICS 15th summit, which will be held in Johannesburg.
“Our vision of BRICS is for our partnership to provide global leadership in a world fractured by competition, geopolitical tension, inequality and deteriorating security,” she said.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
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