Johannesburg welcomes from this Tuesday and until Thursday the heads of state of Brazil, China, India, and the head of Russian diplomacy, alongside other leaders of southern countries, including a thirty Africans. President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation in a televised address on Sunday to clarify his government’s strategy in terms of international relations.
The South African president returned to one of the main issues that will be on the agenda of this 15th Brics summit, namely the question of the enlargement of the group, with a possible opening to other countries: “More than twenty countries from all over the world have formally applied to join the BRICS. And South Africa supports increasing the membership. An expanded version may represent a more diverse group of nations, who have different political systems, and who share a common desire to establish a more balanced world order. »
Balancing exercise for Cyril Ramaphosa
The Brics alliance remains largely dominated by Chinese power, which Cyril Ramaphosa is well aware of, since a state visit by President Xi Jinping is scheduled for Tuesday, while Beijing is Pretoria’s largest trading partner: “The Being a member of the BRICS has created positive opportunities for our country, South Africa. And that has allowed our economy to form a strategic partnership with China, the world’s second largest economy. »
But despite these links, Cyril Ramaphosa does not forget his vital commercial relations with Western countries. In a balancing act, he also made a point of recalling, during this same speech, that his country will host, in November, the AGOA summit in partnership with Washington, as well as a South Africa – Union European by the end of the year.
This article is originally published on .rfi.fr
