President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on the BRICS governments and businesses to redirect investment towards manufacturing, technology and local value addition.
He warned that the expanded bloc must not repeat the Global South’s long- standing dependence on exporting raw commodities.
Addressing the BRICS Business Forum Leaders’ Dialogue at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on Friday, South African President said the group had reached an “inflection point” as global trade patterns shift, technology accelerates and climate pressures intensify.
“The question is no longer whether there is potential within BRICS, but whether we have the ambition, the instruments and the partnerships to convert this potential into economic value for our people,” he said.
Ramaphosa urged the BRICS Business Council to move beyond consultation and become a vehicle for commercial relationships and productive partnerships.
He said governments should create conditions that enable trade and investment, while companies identify opportunities for production and commerce.
The president said BRICS cooperation should focus not only on expanding trade among member states, but also on building stronger productive ties between their economies.
Investment, he argued, should be channelled into manufacturing and mineral beneficiation, industrial technologies, energy systems, infrastructure and logistics.
“We cannot accept a future where Africa supplies the minerals on which the next generation of industries depends, while value addition and manufacturing take place elsewhere,” Ramaphosa said.
He also called on companies to invest in production facilities and local capabilities rather than simply using BRICS markets as outlets for goods and services.
Ramaphosa said the bloc’s resilience should be measured not merely by its ability to withstand disruption, but by its capacity to turn disruption into new capabilities and partnerships.
BRICS, he added, could help create a more resilient, diversified and inclusive economic future for the Global South.
The BRICS Business Council was established during South Africa’s first BRICS presidency in 2013 to strengthen cooperation between governments and the private sector.
