South African officials praise BRICS summit outcomes

New measures to strengthen cooperation on innovation and industrialization were taken at the end of the BRICS Summit in South Africa. This has sent a clear signal of continued multilateralism and opposition to protectionism.

Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the foreign affairs committee for the lower house of parliament, made the remarks in response to Xi’s speech which was titled “Keeping Abreast of the Trend of the Times to Achieve Common Development” at the BRICS Business Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Wednesday.

Slutsky agrees with Xi’s viewpoint as the Chinese president noted in this speech that efforts should be made to fully unlock economic potential and resolute in rejecting unilateralism and protectionism to maintain rule-based multilateral trading system.

He said that protectionism runs contrary to the economic development of all the countries and will undermine the global economy.

For Anil Sooklal, Deputy Director General at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation in South Africa, “we must continue to broaden and deepen cooperation for the BRICS countries, because BRICS is not just about the five countries, it is about creating a partnership with the rest of the world, especially developing countries’‘.

The outcome of the summit should promote further development of BRICS cooperation during the second “Golden Decade”. Officials say it should also play a significant role in stimulating global economic growth and improving global governance.

Reuters