South Africa says to enhance BRICS cooperation

The South African government on Tuesday said it is satisfied with BRICS achievements and will further the cooperation among member states.

South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Maite Nkoana-Mashabane made the comments in Pretoria. "BRICS is attracting increasing global attention," the minister declared.

"The key outcomes that we projected for the 5th summit were successfully achieved, that is the agreement to establish the new development bank and contingent reserve arrangement, the launch of the BRICS business council and think tanks council as well as the first BRICS dialogue with another region, that is the BRICS leaders-Africa dialogue forum," the official said.

BRICS is the acronym of the five emerging economies in the world, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which assumed chairmanship of the 5th BRICS summit in its southeastern port city of Durban in March this year.

"We are witnessing a changing global order and positive developments in the context of peace and development where the international community is starting to reap the benefits of BRICS' s insistence in upholding the integrity of the U.N charter in respect of security and development," Mashabane said.

"South Africa would like to see the expansion of cooperation among BRICS countries," said the minister.

These would include BRICS public diplomacy forum, anti- corruption cooperation, state-owned companies or enterprises and national agencies responsibility for drug control.

"We have proposed to host the first meeting of BRICS ministers responsible for education on the margins of the UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) general conference, also consider our shared challenges pertaining to skills development and unemployment," said Mashabane.

The inaugural meeting of the BRICS think tanks council is expected to take place in South Africa in November.