BRICS business forum opens in Johannesburg

Johannesburg : The curtain of the BRICS Business Forum, which is part of the 10th BRICS Summit, was raised here in South Africa on Wednesday.

According to organisers, about 1,000 delegates, including heads of state, from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa gathered at the Sandton Convention Centre for the event, Xinhua news agency reported.

They deliberated on the current global political economy and its implications for BRICS member countries and the impact of the 4th industrial revolution on inclusive growth and transformation.

Issues concerning facilitating intra-BRICS trade and fostering BRIC-Africa partnerships are also on agenda.

Addressing the forum, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said this year marks a decade of BRICS collaboration, during which the BRICS countries have successfully shaped an ambitious agenda for development that recognizes the great potential the countries possess for collective action.

Intra-BRICS cooperation has been gaining momentum in areas such as finance, agriculture, trade, combating transnational crime, science and technology, health, education, security and academic dialogue, according to Ramaphosa.

He said that the forum provided a platform to harness the benefits of globalization and to confront the challenges it presents.

"As South Africa, we have acknowledged that to effectively deal with poverty, unemployment and inequality, we need to significantly increase the level of investment in our economy to lift growth and create jobs."

Ramaphosa said South Africa was seeking to reinforce the strong bonds that the country developed with the BRICS partners by expanding investment into the country.