Ramaphosa calls on BRICS partners to help in industrialisation of African continent

Johannesburg: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on its BRICS partners to extend assistance in the industrialisation of the countries on the African continent.

He said the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACTFA) has been unlocking massive opportunities for trade, investment and industrial growth and the continent seeks partnerships that would unlock the dynamism and potential of its 1.3 billion people.

"The success of ACFTA requires a substantial investment in infrastructure. We, therefore, call on fellow BRICS countries to partner with us to build the roads, ports for imports and exports, rail, energy and telecommunications networks that will enable Africa to industrialise and trade with other countries across the world," Ramaphosa said at the BRICS Business Forum in the Russian city of Kazan.

Making a plea to the grouping to extend support to women-owned and small businesses, he said, "Africa is home to a population that is young, digitally connected and increasingly urbanised. Investment in skills development is growing." To ensure that the benefits of the ACFTA are spread across African societies, "we need to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises and women-owned businesses receive focused support and financing", the South African president said.

Commending the BRICS Business Forum for meeting the objective of expanding and diversifying trade and investment, Ramaphosa said the grouping has the potential to drive significant change in the global economy and international relations.

"The historic expansion of BRICS creates further opportunities to foster robust trade and development cooperation," he said while stressing that the expanded grouping now covers 43 per cent of the world's population.

"The group together accounts for 27 per cent of global GDP and a fifth of world exports. The opportunities for cooperation and economic progress are immense,” Ramaphosa said.

The South African president said he was also looking forward to the report of the BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to the Summit on the strengthening of correspondent banking networks between BRICS countries and enabling settlements in local currencies.

The BRICS partners had earlier adopted this stance of reducing reliance on current global currencies such as the US dollar, Sterling and the Euro.

Another area that Ramaphosa wanted to see collaboration in the BRICS was the rapidly advancing digital technologies in the global economy.

"E-commerce in particular has great potential to enhance market access and economic growth. We support the call for international rules and standards on issues such as cross-border taxation and data privacy.

"South Africa is ready to play its part in realising the economic potential of BRICS,” he affirmed.