We will soon be meeting in person at the BRICS Business Council meetings and activities to be held in Johannesburg, in August 2023.

We are thrilled at the opportunity to once again, shine the spotlight on Africa and all that she is capable of, but also reinforce our trade ties and most certainly our camaraderie with our friends from Brazil, Russia, China, India and the world over in this year that marks 10 years of the BRICS Business Council.

As we reflect on the work achieved in the past decade, we are proud to acknowledge the efforts of our working groups, who are the engine which keeps the BRICS Business Council running. We look forward with great confidence to the transactions and outputs that will emerge from your continued programme of work.

We also extend our gratitude for the partnership and support shown by to our BRICS Business Council counterparts, throughout the years and during this process of planning for the host of activities and engagements to be held around the 15^th BRICS Summit.

The collective successes shared in the past decade speak for themselves. BRICS continues to assume an anchor role in the global south and is now recognized as one of the world’s leading trade blocs, representing around 32% of global GDP. With China and India in the lead, BRICS has seen its economic influence as a driver of global growth, trade, and investment; increase over the past decades.

However, we still have to contend with a volatile global climate and a slow pace of socio-economic recovery for some economies, such as South Africa’s.

Thus, if there was ever a time to reinforce our commercial and economic ties to anchor the global south, that time is now.

As we begin the final stretch of our preparations for the planned activities in August, we take stock of the work done to date and our state of readiness for the 2023 BRICS Business Council Annual General Meeting and the BRICS Business Forum during the Summit of the Heads of State in August.

HIGHLIGHT ON THIS YEAR’S THEME AND PRIORITIES

The 2023 Theme as announced by our government ‘BRICS & AFRICA; Partnerships for mutually accelerated growth, sustainable development, and inclusive multilateralism’, strikes at the heart of the BRICS Business Council’s very founding principles – to advance our collective economic interests and ensure sustained and perpetual growth for all our nations.

The priorities of this chairship have been designed to anchor on the characteristics of this theme, and these include:

• Developing a partnership towards an Equitable Just Transition
• Transforming Education and Skills Development for the Future
• Unlocking Opportunities through the African Continental Free Trade Agreement
• Strengthening Post-Pandemic Socio-Economic Recovery and the Attainment of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, and
• Enhancing Multilateralism, Working Toward Real Reform of Global Governance Institutions and Strengthening the Meaningful Participation of Women in Peace Processes

We have also developed our 2023 BRICS Business Council Chairship deliverables which will culminate in the hosting of our BRICS Business Council delegates in August.

SOUTH AFRICA’S TRADE AND INVESTMENT POSTURE:

The next decade requires a more pragmatic approach as we endeavor to ensure a “BRICS partnership dividend” and mutually beneficial returns for all member states. South Africa continues to be committed to the advancement of Africa’s economic agenda during this chairship as we have done in the past.

The composition of trade patterns across all BRICS markets should be our key focus, with a sharp focus on balancing of trade through bilateral agreements within BRICS nations and exploring the value chain opportunities of BRIC- Africa in line with African Continent Free Trade Agreement private business strategy.

Unlocking the opportunity for increased intra-BRICS and BRIC-Africa trade will help us deliver a tangible partnership dividend for our respective nations.

2023 PROGRAMME

Our secretariat, in partnership with other stakeholders, is working on delivering a carefully curated programme of events which is detailed on our Preparation For August 2023 to showcase South Africa and the Africa’s commercial appetite and potential as well as to afford partner BBC chapters and business communities the opportunity to network, engage and conduct business.

We look forward to engaging with you through all the various activities planned and finally meeting you in person in August.

Until then, nisale kahle.

Busi Mabuza, SA Chapter of BRICS Business Council