2 July 2018

NEWSLETTER Issue No.: 1

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BRICS IN SA

Diverse regions,

shared objectives

South Africa assumed the rotational Chairship

of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South

Africa (BRICS) Forum from 1 January to 31

December 2018.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will host the 10th

BRICS Summit, scheduled to take place at the

Sandton International Convention Centre (ICC)

in Johannesburg, from 25 – 27 July 2018.

South Africa’s Chairship also coincides with the

100th centenary celebrations of Nelson

Mandela. This gives an opportunity for

Mandela’s legacy of socio-economic

advancement to live on.

The 2018 Summit will be a seminal milestone

for BRICS cooperation, as it represents a

decade of BRICS cooperation at the highest

diplomatic level.

The theme for the 10th BRICS Summit is:

“BRICS in Africa: Collaboration for Inclusive

Growth and Shared Prosperity in the 4th

Industrial Revolution”.

The theme is reflective of the core priorities of

each one of the BRICS members, notably to

strive towards the creation of an inclusive

society and global partnerships that will bring

prosperity to all humankind.

BRICS cooperation in the past decade has

expanded to include an annual programme of

over 100 sectoral meetings.

South Africa’s membership of the BRICS Forum

has become a vital element of its global

economic strategy and is viewed as a catalyst

and enabling tool for the pursuit and

achievement of South Africa’s foreign policy

priorities, including the promotion of the African

Agenda, sustainable development, global

governance reform and South-South

cooperation.

As the BRICS Chair, South Africa intends to

build on the legacy of the 2013 Summit and to

continue working towards strengthening

relations between BRICS and the African

continent.

International Relations and Cooperation Deputy

Minister, Luwellyn Landers, hosted the Fourth

Meeting of the BRICS Deputy Ministers on the Middle

East and North Africa (MENA), on 20 June 2018.

Minister of International Relations and Cooperation,

Lindiwe Sisulu, hosted the Ministers of Foreign

Affairs/International Relations of Brazil, Russia, India,

and China on 4 June 2018 in Pretoria, South Africa.

BRICS REPORT

Youth, science,

security, business,

changeIn the past month, South Africa hosted

important sectoral engagements with its BRICS

partners, the business sector and the youth,

driving the change agenda: “BRICS in Africa:

Collaboration for Inclusive Growth and Shared

Prosperity in the 4th Industrial Revolution”.

The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and

Fisheries, Senzeni Zokwana, and the Western

Cape MEC for Economic Opportunities, Alan

Winde, hosted a BRICS delegation at the

Elsenberg Agricultural College on 19 June

2018. The programme included exhibitions of

agricultural programmes in South Africa,

engagements with students from the Elsenburg

Agricultural College as well as a farm visit.

State Security Minister, Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba

hosted a BRICS Security Ministers Meeting

from 28 – 29 June 2018 in Durban. Discussions

centred on issues of global security such as

cyber security, international terrorism and

organised crime, with a view to strengthen

cooperation on these matters.

The Minister of Cooperative Governance and

Traditional Affairs, Dr Zweli Mkhize, hosted

BRICS Ministers responsible for Local

Government and Disaster Management as well

as mayors and other local government

practitioners under the auspices of the BRICS

Friendship Cities and Local Government

Cooperation and Urbanisation Forum, in East

London from 28 June through to 1 July. The

Forum promotes engagement between BRICS

states through cities and local bodies. It

promotes people-to-people cooperation among

BRICS nations and collaboration at the local

government level.

The Department of Science and Technology

(DST) hosted a wide range of meetings to

discuss the role of science, technology and

innovation (STI) in society. Sessions were held

on harnessing the youth demographic dividend

to make use of the opportunities of the Fourth

Industrial Revolution, Africa's historical

contribution to STI, and the relevance of STI to

the African Agenda today.

DST, in partnership with the Academy of

Science of South Africa, hosted the Third

BRICS Young Scientist Forum from 25 to 29

June in Durban at the Maharani Hotel.

BRICS Young Diplomats Forum delegates touring the Cradle of Humankind, 27 June 2018, Maropeng,

Mogale City

International Relations and Cooperation Deputy

Minister, Reginah Mhaule, on 26 June

addressed the meeting of the 4th BRICS Young

Diplomats Forum (YDF) from 25 – 29 June.

The BRICS YDF is an initiative that enables the

young diplomats of the BRICS member

countries to define promising spheres of

practical cooperation and overcoming the

obstacles in their joint work and exchange

useful experience of diplomatic work.

The Minister of Science and Technology,

Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, also gave a

keynote address on South Africa’s international

cooperation in science and technology, and

opportunities for the BRICS partnership.

Experts from the Council for Scientific and

Industrial Research (CSIR) made a

presentation on South Africa's progress in

terms of innovation in engineering, medicine,

mechanics, etc. for the Fourth Industrial

Revolution.

Gauteng Premier David Makhura addressed

the young diplomats on 28 June at the

Development Bank of Southern Africa in

Midrand and urged them to focus on good

governance and ethical leadership.

The group also toured the Cradle of

Humankind and the CSIR Robotics Innovation

Centre.

Did you know?

The new areas of BRICS cooperation as

proposed by South Africa, are as follows:

• establishing a Working Group on

Peacekeeping

• establishing a Vaccine Research

Centre for Collaboration with BRICS

vaccine innovation and development

partners – this is intended to be a

physical research centre focused on

research and development and

vaccine innovation

• establishing a BRICS Gender and

Women’s Forum – this is intended as

a dedicated track for gender and

women’s issues, given the economic

benefit to be derived from the socio-

economic empowerment of women,

particularly in developing countries

• leveraging the Strategy for BRICS

Economic Partnership towards the

Pursuit of Inclusive Growth and

Advancing the BRICS Partnership

on the Fourth Industrial Revolution

– this is intended to foster discussions

to address opportunities provided by

the Fourth Industrial Revolution as a

means of leapfrogging development

stages and bridging the digital divide

• establishing a BRICS Tourism Track

of Cooperation.

BRICS OUTREACH

Profiling, benefits,

citizen buy-in

Since February 2018, he South African

Government has embarked on a number of

activities in the run-up to the 10th BRICS

Summit. The activities provide a platform to

highlight the importance of South Africa’s

participation in BRICS and the benefits thereof.

It is also used to cultivate citizen buy-in into

BRICS activities and to profile South Africa’s

role as Chair of BRICS.

Recent outreach events:

On 18 June, the Deputy Minister of

International Relations and Cooperation,

Luwellyn Landers, addressed the Speaker's

Meeting at the South African Institute of

International Affairs (SAIIA) The theme of the

discussion focused on “BRICS in Africa:

Working towards the Realisation of the African

Aspirations”.

On the same day, the BRICS Sherpa and

Deputy Director-General for Asia and the

Middle East in the Department of International

Relations and Cooperation, Prof. Anil Sooklal,

addressed a Roundtable Discussion in Durban

in partnership with the City of eThekwini.

The Deputy Minister of International Relations

and Cooperation, Reginah Mhaule, on 22 June

2018, addressed business stakeholders in

Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. The event provided a

platform for the Deputy Minister to highlight the

importance of South Africa’s participation in

BRICS and the benefits thereof.

Deputy Minister Mhaule addressed youth on

the 10th BRICS Summit in Mpumalanga on 29

June.

The purpose of the Deputy Minister’s

engagement with young people was to create

awareness of the 10th BRICS Summit and

provided exposure to unemployed youth to

available business opportunities and careers.

The event took place as the country

commemorated the 2018 Youth Month under

the theme “Live the Legacy: Towards a Socio-

Economically Empowered Youth”.

On the sidelines of the Second Meeting of the BRICS

Sherpas/Sous-Sherpas in Limpopo, the Sherpas

engaged students at the University of Venda on 23 April

2018.

Deputy Minister of International Relations and

Cooperation, Luwellyn Landers, engaging stakeholders

at SAIIA on 18 June 2018

The South Africa BRICS Sherpa and Deputy Director-

General of Asia and Middle East of DIRCO, Prof. Anil

Sooklal, engaging students at the University of the

Western Cape, 14 May 2018.

The Minister of Small Business Development,

Lindiwe Zulu, arriving at a BRICS Business

Roundtable at the Eastern Cape Industrial

Development Zone, 26 June 2018.

ENGAGING MEDIA

BRICS priorities for SA

On Wednesday, 28 March 2018, the BRICS Sherpa, Prof. Anil Sooklal briefed the following media houses in Johannesburg: The Foreign Correspondents Association (FCA),

the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef), and The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The objective of the briefings were to engage the media on

BRICS to ensure a better understanding of the issues and more informed reporting. Issues arising from these briefings will be compiled in a Q&A document to inform identified

messengers.

Message from the PresidentListen to the South African President, HE Mr Cyril Ramaphosa’s

welcome message on www.brics2018.org.za.

Join the conversation

www.brics2018.org.za

@BRICS_10 @brics_10

#BRICS #BRICSZA

Coming up

• Eighth BRICS Science, Technology

and Innovation Senior Officials

Meeting, 2 July 2018

• Sixth Meeting of the BRICS Ministers

of Science, Technology and

Innovation, 3 July 2018

• Third Meeting of Industry Experts, 3

July 2018

• Third Meeting of BRICS Industry

Ministers, 4 July 2018

• Meeting of BRICS Trade Ministers, 5

July 2018

• BRICS Network University

Conference, 5 – 7 July 2018

• President Cyril Ramaphosa to

engage with Team South Africa on

the readiness of the 10th BRICS

Summit, 6 July 2018

• Meeting of BRICS Senior Officials on

Education, 9 July 2018

• Meeting of the BRICS Ministers of

Education, 10 July 2018

• Fourth BRICS Youth Summit and

Meeting, 16 – 21 July 2018

• BRICS Games, 16 – 22 July 2018.