The BRICS summit is an international relations summit attended by the heads of state from Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa who convene for a BRICS Leadersā Summit annually. This year marks the 11th summit which was hosted in Brazil from the 13th- – 14th of November 2019. The discussions centred around spheres of political and socio-economic coordination, in which each member of the participating countries identified business opportunities, economic complementarities and areas of cooperation. The conference also aims to contribute significantly to the development of humanity and establish a more impartial world.
The 10th BRICS summit was considered a milestone as it represented a decade of cooperation under the theme,” BRICS in Africa: Collaboration for Inclusive Growth and Shared Prosperity in the 4th Industrial Revolution” where South Africa assumed the role as chair of BRICS from 1 January to 31 December 2018.
The South African Declaration was structured around four key themes:
1. Strengthening multilateralism, reforming global governance and addressing common challenges;
2.Strengthening and consolidating BRICS cooperation on international peace and security;
3.BRICS partnership for global economic recovery, reform of financial and economic global governance institutions, and the fourth industrial revolution; and
4.people-to-people cooperation.
As part of the preparation for the 10th BRICS Summit, Brand South Africa released a report entitled, The BRICS Brand ā from economic concept to institution of global governance, which explored how the BRICS New Development Bank, BRICS Business Council and Think Tank structures, have contributed to the development of the BRICS image. Established in 2002, Brand South Africa helps to create a positive and compelling brand image for South Africa
The 2019 Brazilian Presidency theme focused on the theme, āBRICS: Economic Growth for an Innovative Futureā. President Cyril Ramaphosa, highlighted that small business development is critical when it comes to addressing global challenges of job creation, poverty elevation and inequality. According to Ramaphosa, āsmall-medium enterprises constitute 91%of the formalized business in South Africa and provide employment to about 60 people of the labour force and accounts for about 34% of the GDPā. He added that South Africa is developing policies, trade positions and mandates that will promote the growth of small businesses through international agreements and structures such as BRICSā.
