Deputy Ministers and Special Envoys for the MENA region,

Heads of the Senior Officials Meeting,

BRICS delegates,

Members of the Media,

Excellencies,

It gives me great pleasure to chair the Ninth BRICS Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region Deputy Ministers and Special Envoys Meeting. This is our first in person/hybrid meeting since 2019. On that note I want to extend a warm welcome to you and hope that you enjoy your stay in Cape Town. I am looking forward to our positive deliberations on developments in the MENA region, and adoption of our joint outcome statement.

I want to thank our senior officials and technical experts for preparing our BRICS Joint Outcome Statement on the MENA region.

Excellencies,

We meet at a time of significant global, continental and regional challenges which include, but are not limited to addressing food security, energy security, climate change, conflict and instability.

Excellencies,

There seems to be a quiet but incremental geopolitical change taking place in the Middle East right now. Firstly, the region is entering a new phase of friendly relations with the resumption of diplomatic relations between Suadi Arabia and Iran. This positive rapprochement was facilitated by the People’s Republic of China on 10 March 2023 in Beijing. We warmly welcome this agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, to re-open their Embassies and missions in the next two months. We maintain that the rapprochement between these two countries will greatly contribute towards peace, stability and development in the region. We equally welcome and are proud of the role played by our fellow BRICS member, The Peoples Republic of China, as well as the role played by Oman and Iraq, in the mediation and facilitation of this agreement.

Secondly, another positive development in the region, which we should welcome took place in April this year, when the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud met with Syrian President Bashar. The visit was designed to find a political solution to Syria’s civil war and the normalisation of Saudi Syrian relations.

Excellencies,

The year 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of the 1948 Nakba, that led to the occupation and displacement of Palestinians from their homelands. Since 1948, the Palestinian people have been subjected to countless injustices and an ongoing cycle of destruction, displacement, dispossession, and progressive fragmentation of their territory.

South Africa is deeply concerned by the continuing levels of violence and grave attacks directed against Palestinians in recent months by Israeli settlers and Israeli occupation forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The brutality and provocative rhetoric of these actions perpetuates an endemic cycle of violence which is not conducive to peace, and detracts from a just settlement, based on a two-State solution.

Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine discriminates against and violates Palestinians legitimate rights. In this regard, we must be resolute in upholding international law, international human rights law and humanitarian law. We are therefore encouraged by the decision of the UN General Assembly to request an Advisory Opinion from the ICJ on “Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

South Africa remains committed to a solution, which is premised on a just settlement with just laws that are rights-based. We reiterate our support for the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate rights including but not limited to their right to self-determination.

One of the biggest security challenges in the MENA remains the issue of violent extremism, terrorism, and armed conflict through both traditional and non-traditional asymmetrical and non-linear warfare. The rise of violent extremist terrorist groups over the past decade such as ISIS, Boko Haram, Al Shabab and AQIM amongst others has caused great damage to the region and beyond.

To this end we as BRICS must condemn terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism. South Africa is of the view that only through ongoing cooperation, continuous assessment of the threat and sharing of information, can we begin to make progress in addressing this challenge and enhancing our capabilities and effectiveness in addressing our specific contexts in countering terrorism. We support the efforts of the United Nations, which is best placed to deal with this threat in all its forms, helping to develop international consensus and promoting international standards for countering terrorism, whilst ensuring global efforts are rooted in respect for human rights, the rule of law, and the peaceful resolution of conflict. We must also acknowledge the work done by various institutions and countries to fight terrorism. In this regard we commend our fellow BRICS partner India for hosting the special Session of the Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC) of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in Mumbai and Delhi in October last year. We furthermore welcome the Delhi Declaration on countering the use of emerging technologies for terrorist purposes at the special session of the CTC of the UNSC.

Excellencies,

BRICS must continue to prioritise regional and continental peace, stability, security and development as the main components towards contributing to a sustainable peaceful and just global order based on international law. In this regard we should support the need to achieve an enduring and mutually acceptable political solution to the question of Western Sahara in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions. Accordingly, we must express our support for the full implementation of the mandate of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), which will ultimately address one of the remaining decolonisation issues on the African Continent.

Excellencies,

In conclusion, the importance of addressing conflict and security concerns through dialogue and inclusive consultations in a coordinated and cooperative manner is a ‘’sine qou non’’ for a peaceful, secure and stable Middle East and North Africa. As the BRICS collective let us reaffirm our commitment to the basic principle of building peace, security and stability in the MENA region.

I thank you.

ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION

OR Tambo Building
460 Soutpansberg Road
Rietondale
Pretoria
0084

Honourable Minister,
Leadership of SABYA,
Academics of Tshwane University of Technology & the Confucius Institute,
The CEOs of the NYDA, FP & MSETA,
Participants, Entrepreneurs & Innovators,
Ladies and gentlemen,

On behalf of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) as the South African BRICS Sherpa it gives me immense pleasure to deliver a message of support on this auspicious occasion.

This summit is an important cog in the development, technology and innovation wheel of all our BRICS countries. It is also one of many important events in the run up to our BRICS Heads of State Summit which will be held in August this year.

DIRCO and the SA Government are therefore extremely proud that our youth have over the past decade taken the initiative to grasp the opportunities that are being created and the opportunities that still need to be created in this pillar of BRICS cooperation. This organisation (SABYA) and this BRICS Youth Summit is an example of such opportunities.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Our global challenges (socio-political, economic and environmental) today are complex, multifaceted and continuously evolving. In this regard our youth are key to addressing these challenges as the global drivers of technological disruption, change and innovation. The theme of this summit is timely and this summit must therefore be an example of our youth in all BRICS countries creating a platform for collaboration, integration, synergy and disruption in the field of science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. By ensuring collaboration, BRICS youth will benefit from the following, amongst others:

1. Funding and investment opportunities.
2. Access to new and promising markets.
3. Knowledge and expertise sharing.
4. Collaborative research and development.
5. Joint infrastructure development.

BRICS countries have much to gain by cooperating in the areas of innovation, entrepreneurship, science, and technology. By leveraging our unique strengths and resources, we can develop new solutions and approaches that benefit all of us and that are tailor-made for the realities of the global South.

The importance of cooperation between the BRICS countries in the fields of youth innovation and entrepreneurship cannot be overemphasised. As the world’s leading emerging economies, our five nations share a wealth of resources, expertise, and opportunities. By working together, our youth will be able to harness their collective energy and strengths in order to drive innovation and entrepreneurship to new heights befitting of the age we live in.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The youth of our nations are the future of our economies and societies. BRICS leadership firmly believe that you are the driving force behind innovation and entrepreneurship and that you have the potential to create positive change in our societies. By fostering a culture of scientific and technological development, innovation and entrepreneurship, you can address some of the most pressing social, political, environmental and economic challenges facing our world today including but not limited to creating new jobs, boosting economic growth and addressing climate change challenges in a sustainable fashion.

Our BRICS countries remains home to some of the world’s most talented and creative young people.  Our diverse cultural heritage, combined with access to cutting-edge technologies, creates a fertile ground for innovation and entrepreneurship. By leveraging these strengths, we can create new opportunities for young people to develop skills and contribute to the collective growth and development of all BRICS countries and beyond – this is the true meaning of a demographic dividend.

Innovation and entrepreneurship are critical to the success of any economy. It drives growth and competitiveness and creates new markets and opportunities for businesses of all sizes. Through clever cooperation, our youth can leverage their collective strengths to build a more vibrant and dynamic business environment that benefits all.

BRICS youth must create more spaces and platforms such as this summit to share knowledge and expertise and learn from each other to create new opportunities for collaboration. BRICS youth must also pool their collective resources to invest in innovative projects and initiatives that benefit all our BRICS societies. In this regard there are several BRICS projects, funding instruments, platforms and networks that are already in existence which, such as:

1. The BRICS Innovation Fund.
2. The BRICS Science, Technology, and Innovation Framework Programme.
3. The BRICS Technology Transfer Centre.
4. The BRICS Start-up Summit.

Overall, these funding agencies, platforms, instruments and organisations are essential in promoting a culture of innovation, entrepreneurship, science, and technology in the BRICS countries. By providing funding, technical support, and platforms for collaboration, these organisations help to create an environment that is conducive to innovation and entrepreneurship and essential for economic growth and development.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Innovation is at the heart of progress, and the youth of BRICS countries have a crucial role to play in driving it forward in order to address transversal challenges of our times such as climate change, environmental degradation, global peace and security, the unequal global political governance, economic and financial order, poverty, inequality in all its forms, unemployment and social injustice.

A good example of this was our response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlighted the importance of innovation, international cooperation, collaboration and functional coherence amongst BRICS partners. We were able to move away from a state of fragmentation to a state of integration, synchrony, convergence and synergy.

During this period, we experienced the power of technology particularly the progress made in ICT infrastructural development and we have experienced the importance of innovation through the entire value chain from vaccine development to vaccine delivery.

As young people, you must maintain the momentum built during this period and continue to harness and channel your energies towards finding solutions that can help our societies recover and thrive in our post-pandemic era. By working together, the youth of our countries can build a more equitable, peaceful, secure and sustainable global south and world that benefits all our people, regardless of race, gender, religion, culture and socio-economic background.

In conclusion, as you deliberate and explore opportunities at this summit, let me remind you of the words of the great Pan African revolutionary Amilcar Cabral who said: “Always bear in mind that the people are not fighting for ideas, for the things in anyone’s head. They are fighting to win material benefits, to live better and in peace, to see their lives go forward, to guarantee the future of their children. . .”.

With these wise words I implore upon you to approach the summit with the twin principles of both creative disruption and pragmatism when dealing with our common challenges.

I thank you.

ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION

OR Tambo Building
460 Soutpansberg Road
Rietondale
Pretoria
0084

Excellency, Mr Mxolisi Kaunda, Mayor of eThekwini,
Members of the Mayoral Council of eThekwini,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

South Africa took over as Chair of BRICS on 1 January 2023 in a difficult national and global economic environment.

Globally, the conflict in Ukraine and the West’s unilateral sanctions, have battered economies that were struggling to recover from the COVID pandemic. With Russia being the world’s third-largest oil producer, second-largest natural gas producer and a top producer of steel and wheat, the conflict has led to substantial increases in food and energy prices that have disproportionately impacted us in the global South. Nationally, load shedding is worsening the situation with devastating impact on the economy, closing many businesses and worsening disruptions to the rail and logistics networks that should be supporting the trading economies, particularly in KZN.

As government, we have the South African Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan with detailed interventions to address our energy crisis with the aim of fixing Eskom, fundamentally transforming the electricity sector to achieve long-term energy security and enabling and accelerating investment in the energy sector.

It is clear that we cannot do this alone. At the January Lekgotla, President called on our BRICS partners to assist South Africa in our recovery.

This is line with our principled position to advance in partnership with others and is the central part of our theme as Chair of BRICS for 2023, namely “BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development, and Inclusive Multilateralism.”

Our theme reflects our vision of BRICS as a partnership of leading developing countries providing leadership, momentum and solutions for global growth, sustainable development, and inclusion of the global South in the world system.

The theme and priorities were developed through an inclusive national consultation process that included government departments and the South African chapters of the BRICS Business Council, BRICS Women’s Business Alliance, BRICS Think Tanks Council and BRICS Civil Forum in order to align our BRICS priorities with South Africa’s national interests.

Our first priority responds to the significant transformational changes we are making in our economy, particularly in the energy sector. We therefore aim to “Develop a partnership towards an equitable Just Transition” This priority aims to find solutions to transformational energy change which will also improve people’s lives and livelihoods in the sectors that supported the old economy, such as mining.

Our other BRICS priorities are:

• Transforming Education and Skills Development for the Future

• Unlocking Opportunities through the African Continental Free Trade Area

• Strengthening Post-Pandemic Socio-Economic Recovery and the Attainment of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development

• Strengthening Multilateralism, including Working Toward Real Reform of Global Governance Institutions and Strengthening the Meaningful Participation of Women in Peace Processes.

BRICS countries are uniquely positioned to support South Africa’s energy recovery. BRICS countries contain almost half the world’s population and account for approximately 40% of the world’s energy consumption. As BRICS we are responsible for 48% of the world’s coal consumption, 22% of the world’s oil consumption and 13.5% of the world’s natural gas consumption.

While renewable energy consumption is only 16% at the moment, BRICS renewable energy consumption has been growing year by year driven by most BRICS members commitment to mitigating climate change and global for low carbon development.

BRICS countries are not only consumers of energy, as all members have substantial fossil fuels and available renewable energy resources. BRICS members account for 40% of the world’s coal reserves, 25% of the world’s natural gas reserves and 8% of the world’s oil reserves. In the renewable energy sector, solar power from South Africa, Brazil and India, wind power from Russia and China, as well as biomass from Brazil, all enjoy substantial resource advantages.

Within BRICS, China is the world’s largest coal producer with 50% of the world’s output in 2020 and India 10%. Russia produced 12% of the world’s oil and 16% of the world’s natural gas. Brazil is rich in biomass energy and its output for 25% of the world’s total biomass energy in 2020.

With our natural resources, BRICS countries are major role players in the global supply of energy and its dynamics. BRICS countries have developed similar energy policies to manage energy risks. BRICS countries have both expertise and technologies to use their energy resources to enhance energy security and cooperation.

BRICS recognised these complementarities and in 2020, BRICS adopted a Road Map for BRICS Energy Cooperation up to 2025 aimed at building a strategic partnership in energy cooperation. The Road Map is being implemented in phases.

The first phase is the research phase which started under South Africa’s Chairship of BRICS in 2018 with the establishment of the BRICS Energy Research Cooperation Platform. The platform brings together experts, companies and research institutes to coordinate common interests of BRICS in research and development of innovative technology and policies, with seven studies being released to date at BRICS Ministers of Energy meetings. Last year, China presented an additional study on the development of renewable energy and smart grids in the BRICS countries. This year, Russia is leading a study on energy security. The roadmap also established the publication of the annual BRICS Energy Report.

During the second phase, BRICS countries will identify the needs and challenges to energy security and find areas where BRICS cooperation can provide solutions. The third phase aims at advancing mutually beneficial cooperation including exchange of best practice, use of BRICS advanced technology, as well as opportunities for trade and investment in each other’s economies. Of course, we are not waiting for this third phase before we work with our BRICS partners on energy solutions.

India is already South Africa’s biggest coal export market and brings in almost half of our total coal revenue. China is reopening opportunities for imports from South Africa, following its political fallout with Australia, previously an important coal source for them. China has substantial oil and gas trade with Russia, oil and gas cooperation with Brazil, a joint natural gas pipeline project with India as well as renewable energy trade with South Africa. South Africa is a pioneer in area of clean coal, in which India and China have an interest. The Russian state energy company Rosatom has signed an agreement with South Africa to construct small hydropower plants in Mpumalanga as a key component of South Africa’s energy security strategy.

Part of South Africa’s response to the energy crisis involves implementing a just transition to a low carbon economy. Climate change also poses considerable risks to jobs, businesses and the economy. We are among the most water-scarce countries in the world, and recent events here in KZN have shown that extreme weather events such as floods are occurring more often, with devastating impact on our infrastructure.

The response to the electricity crisis provides an opportunity to also mitigate our contribution to, and the risks from, climate change and adapt to a low carbon economy.

South Africa’s Just Transition Plan aims to significantly lower emissions of greenhouse gases and harnesses investments in new energy technologies, electric vehicles, and energy-efficient appliances. South Africa’s Integrated Resource Plan which drives our energy policy therefore envisions that renewable solar and wind energy will generate almost 25% of our electricity by 2030. Coal, which currently accounts for 85% of South Africa’s electricity generation will drop below 60% in less than a decade.

The impact on communities reliant on coal extraction and production is an important element of the Just Transition as it aims to ensure that communities tied to high-emitting energy industries are not left behind and are provided with new skills and new economic and employment opportunities.

During South Africa’s Chairship of BRICS in 2013, we established the BRICS Business Council to strengthen and promote economic, trade, business and investment ties among the business communities of the BRICS countries. The BRICS Business Council also identifies problems and bottlenecks and recommends solutions to BRICS.

This year, under South Africa’s Chairship, the Council’s Energy and Green Economy Working Group is focused on concrete outputs on the Just Transition. The Council has developed an energy skills roadmap for South Africa which will be rolled out to the other BRICS countries. The skills roadmap identifies the skills available as well as the skills necessary and identifies training programmes as well as sponsors across the BRICS countries.

There are discussions on the possible establishment of a BRICS African Centre of Excellence on the Just Energy Transition which would support a network of researchers focused on technology, socio-economic, environmental, financial and other aspects of the Just Transition that would inform policy making in BRICS countries in collaboration with the BRICS Energy Research Cooperation Platform.

The question is how to identify funding for investment in renewable energy. There is a lot of money available globally for renewable energy projects, with National Treasury estimating that there is 12 trillion dollars available from sources such as the Green Climate Fund. But developing countries struggle to access these funds because of the perceived risk of investing in a developing country. South Africa’s policy uncertainty and regulatory challenges have been cited as obstacles to South African investment opportunities, with other funders also banning financing and investment in coal for energy, even if it is clean coal.

India and China are able to source their own international finance for renewable energy by offering their own-currency Green Bonds known as Green Masala Bonds and Green Panda Bonds. The Green Panda Bond is issued by the BRICS New Development Bank.

The NDB is a multilateral development bank established by BRICS countries to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects. Sustainability is fundamental to the founding principles of the NDB, and the Bank aims to deliver transformative impact to BRICS member countries with a target of 40% of all the Bank’s loans funding projects mitigation and adaption for the effects of climate change by 2026.

South Africa and China have so far been the leading beneficiaries of sustainable financing from the NDB with respect to clean and renewable energy. South Africa is the beneficiary of 12 projects financed by the Bank to the value of 5.4 billion dollars. Five of these projects support the energy sector, with three of those funding renewable energy projects to the value of thirteen billion Rand.

Excellencies,

The opportunities for BRICS to support transformative change in our economy are obvious. As Chair of BRICS in 2023, our strategic vision is to harness our existing mutually beneficial BRICS cooperation to address issues of national interest and national concern for South Africa in a holistic and multi-disciplinary way. The depth and strength of our BRICS partnership allows us to bring multiple BRICS solutions to the table, including financing, trade, investment, industrialisation, skills development and training, research, development and innovation, as well as partnership with African countries and leading countries of the global South.

I thank you.

ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION

OR Tambo Building
460 Soutpansberg Road
Rietondale
Pretoria
0084

Dear Chairperson DG Lamati,
Distinguished delegates,
Esteemed guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure to stand before you this evening as we bring to a close the First BRICS Employment Working Group meeting held here in Johannesburg, South Africa.

I hear that some of the delegations have already left for their countries. Therefore, we also thank them in absentia.

Over the past four days, we have had the privilege of engaging in fruitful discussions and exchanges, exploring ways to work together to create opportunities for our citizens and promote decent work for all.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to each and every one of you for taking the time to attend this important event, which is one of many that our country will be hosting throughout the year until the LEMM in September 2023.

Your presence here has been invaluable, and your contributions have enriched our discussions and helped us to achieve our objectives.

The knowledge, expertise, and diverse perspectives you have brought to the table have been truly remarkable.

I have no doubt that the insights gained here will go a long way in shaping our efforts to tackle the employment challenges that confront our nations.

Furthermore, I would like to extend my appreciation to all of you for your support of the South African presidency of BRICS.

Your commitment to working with us towards our common goals has been unwavering, and your dedication to the BRICS partnership continues to inspire us.

Through our collective efforts, we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of our people, particularly in the areas of growing our economies, employment, job creation, and decent work.

As we conclude this gathering, I would like to take this opportunity to announce that South Africa looks forward to welcoming you once again for the Second BRICS Employment Working Group in May 2023.

As the Presidency, we will provide you with the meeting details in due course since we are making the final preparations and arrangements.

DG Lamati and the team have assured me that everything is in order and that we will have a splendid experience again.

We are committed to building on the progress that we have made during this first meeting, and we look forward to continuing our work towards achieving the goals set out in our joint action plan.

In closing, let me once again express my deep appreciation for your participation in this event.

Your presence here has been a testament to the strength and vitality of our partnership, and I am confident that together, we can achieve great things for the benefit of our people.

We wish you a safe journey home. Au bon voyage!

Thank you.​

ISSUED BY DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT AND LABOUR