President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on BRICS governments and business communities to leverage the bloc as a platform to deepen investment and trade, reshape economic patterns and transform Global South economies.

Addressing the BRICS Business Forum on Friday, Ramaphosa said the grouping’s ambition must extend beyond merely increasing intra-BRICS trade to deepening productive relationships between member economies.

“We cannot accept a future where Africa supplies the minerals on which the next generation of industries depends, while value addition and manufacturing take place elsewhere,” he said.

He urged that investment be directed towards manufacturing and beneficiation, industrial technologies, energy systems and infrastructure and logistics – not just market access, but the establishment of production facilities and development of local capabilities.

Raw deal

Ramaphosa stressed that developing economies have long participated in global value chains mainly as suppliers of raw commodities, with value creation and higher-value manufacturing concentrated elsewhere. “We should not reproduce that pattern within the expanded BRICS,” he warned.

He called for a compact between governments and business, where governments create enabling conditions for trade and investment while companies pursue opportunities for production and commerce.

“The question is no longer whether there is potential within BRICS, but whether we have the ambition, the instruments and the partnerships to convert this potential into economic value for our people,” Ramaphosa said.

Inflection point

He described BRICS as being at an inflection point, with shifting trade patterns, technological advances and climate pressures forcing countries and companies to reconsider where they source, produce, and invest – presenting an opportunity to build a more resilient and inclusive economic future for the Global South.

The forum, which brought together business leaders, ministers and heads of state, serves as an agenda-setting platform whose conclusions feed into BRICS Summit declarations and follow-up work plans covering trade, investment, the digital economy, micro, small and medium enterprises, standards cooperation and value chain integration.

Ramaphosa arrived in India on Friday to attend the 18th BRICS Summit, taking place from Saturday 12 to Sunday 13 September under India’s chairship. The summit focuses on strengthening cooperation among the expanded membership and advancing Global South interests.

ALSO READ: Ramaphosa lambasts Trump’s threat to ‘punish’ BRICS countries