RONALD LAMOLA | Brics solidarity on show at summit - TimesLIVE

What happens if we do not emerge with a declaration? How do we communicate this to the people of South Africa? What would be our message given that the May foreign ministers’ meeting had failed to reach consensus, leading to renewed scepticism among commentators who described the Brics bloc as mired in the quicksand of expansion and fraught geopolitics?

These three questions were top of mind as the South African delegation engaged in the negotiations that culminated in the 18th Brics Summit hosted under India’s leadership in New Delhi on September 12 and 13. Thankfully, these questions were put to bed when all 11 Brics members signed off on a 140-paragraph declaration.

For our part, a few areas stand out from the Delhi summit.

First, the summit made it clear that global governance is simply out of kilter with the world as it is today. The leaders recognised Africa’s legitimate aspirations for representation in the UN Security Council and stressed the need to reform global governance to amplify the voices of the world’s majority.

Second, the summit did not avoid the areas that stalled progress in the build-up to the meeting. The declaration expressed deep concern about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East/West Asia and, while recognising different national positions, called for “maximum restraint” for parties in the conflict, respect for civilian life and infrastructure, as well as respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states. The leaders also stressed the need to find mechanisms to ease the flow of global trade and strengthen supply chains. This is what the Freedom Charter calls for — the settlement of all international disputes by dialogue, not war.

The declaration also underscored the need to uphold and defend international law as the shade under which all countries should find shelter. The right of Palestinians to statehood and return, the plight of the Sudanese people and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon all received dedicated attention.

The bloc’s member countries registered concerns about what development economist Jeffrey Sachs calls a “unilateral mindset”. This includes sanctions and unilateral blockades that continue to deny millions of people food, electricity and medicine. The blockade against Cuba is a case in point.

Third, and perhaps most important of all, the continued credibility of the Brics bloc rests on how well we can translate expansion into tangible economic and commercial opportunities.

While intra-Brics trade has increased more than tenfold in the last two decades, with trade in goods among the bloc’s countries worth $1.17-trillion (R18.8-trillion), according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), trade patterns are skewed towards the larger economies in our grouping.

This must change. President Cyril Ramaphosa emphasised this message when he addressed the Brics Business Council, which was attended by no fewer than 120 business representatives from South Africa. Progress toward facilitating payments in Brics’ local currencies is a significant step in this direction.

Likewise, the summit underscored the growing role of the New Development Bank (NDB) as a robust, strategic multilateral bank that supports the development aspirations of the Global South. South Africa’s position is that our participation in the bloc should produce tangible results in the lives of ordinary people.

As it stands, the NDB has extended millions of dollars in funding for critical infrastructure projects in our country. The $200m loan for a new tertiary hospital in Polokwane, with 488 beds, will expand access to specialist health care amid rising demand. A further $205m loan towards the Magalies bulk water project will go a long way towards ameliorating our country’s water woes.

Delhi also made clear the coherence and continuity of our foreign policy across the different multilateral forums in which our country participates. One area where this continuity emerges clearly is the summit declaration on critical minerals. South Africa has always been clear that the path towards a green future will be paved with the minerals from African soil. We have emphasised that this green future must not perpetuate the old patterns of plunder and extraction. Brics leaders echoed this call and affirmed the need for policy space for our resource-rich nations to secure value addition and sovereign rights over our minerals.

The summit also pledged to safeguard the advancements made during the four consecutive Global South presidencies: Indonesia, India, Brazil and South Africa. Crucially, the leaders also supported South Africa’s status as a G20 founding member, sending a clear political message against our unilateral exclusion during the 2026 presidency.

The message emerging from the halls of Bharat Mandapam is loud and clear. Together we represent 4.1-billion people, or nearly half of the global population, 40% of the world’s GDP and over a quarter of global trade. Our countries are at the coalface of some of the challenges of our times, from conflict and climate disasters to poverty and underdevelopment. We simply cannot be ignored.

India deserves hearty congratulations for shepherding the process and holding over 400 meetings of ministers, parliamentarians, jurists, young people, business delegations and heads of international organisations across 30 cities. We look towards China’s presidency in 2027 and ours in 2028 without any sense of complacency or chest-thumping. We have our work cut out for us.