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NUMERO 20 - 29/10/2014

 South Africa and BRICS: An African perspective

South Africa’s foreign policy contends that our national interests are better safeguarded by not just focusing on our own national interests, but broadly on the interests of our region and our continent. Our country, as a member of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) bloc, is playing an important role towards the shifting and distribution of power internationally. This shift is expected to give rise to a multi-polar world order. Our interaction with fellow BRICS states is premised on three levels of engagement: firstly, national, where we advance our national interests; secondly, regional, where we promote regional integration and interaction with specific emphasis on the African Union mandate given to President Jacob Zuma to promote infrastructure development across the continent; and, thirdly, on a global level, where we advocate for a more inclusive global governance system. The BRICS bloc represents 43% of the world’s population, approximately one fifth of global gross domestic product (GDP), estimated at US$13, 7 trillion, as well as combined foreign reserves estimated at US$4, 4 trillion. Last year, 2012, the BRICS countries accounted for approximately 11% of global annual foreign direct investment (FDI) flows (US$465 billion) and 17% of world trade... (segue)



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