BRICS representatives to present in Botswana

Ambassadors and High Commissioners of BRICS countries, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will on Wednesday host a presentation for guests from the Botswana government, diplomatic corps and international organizations.

A news release from the Chinese Embassy on Tuesday said that BRICS is an acronym for the powerful grouping of the world's leading emerging market economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. BRICS representatives will deliberate on the outcomes of the 5th BRICS summit and focus on the upcoming 6th BRICS summit to be held in Brazil in 2014.

The release also explained that BRICS mechanism aims to achieve peace, security, development and cooperation and also contribute significantly to the development of humanity and establishing a more equitable and fair world order.

"As of 2013, the five BRICS countries represent almost 3 billion people, with a combined nominal GDP of 16.039 trillion U.S. dollars, and an estimated 4 trillion dollars in combined foreign reserves," the release said.

The First BRICS Summit took place in Russia in 2009 where the elected leaders of the four countries formally declared membership of the BRIC economic bloc. South Africa was invited to join the bloc in December 2010, resulting in BRICS. BRICS summits have been held since 2009 in Russia, 2010 in Brazil, 2011 in China and 2012 in India.

South Africa hosted the Fifth BRICS Summit on March 27, 2013 in Durban, under the theme "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Development, Integration and Industrialization." It was the first time that the summit was hosted on the African continent. BRICS leaders pledged their strong support for Africa's development programs.

Earlier local media reports said Botswana was urged to rebalance and focus greater reliance on Asian economies as well as the BRICS countries. This would offer Botswana an opportunity to grow and export products like zinc, nickel, meat and tourism to BRICS countries. Ties between the BRICS and countries in sub- Saharan Africa have increased rapidly over the past decade and have become new growth drivers for these countries.