Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma will lead a South African delegation to the Seventh BRICS Summit to be held in Ufa, Russia next week.
The Brazil, Russian, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) nations will be hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin from 8 to 9 July 2015, under the theme: “BRICS Partnership – a Powerful Factor of Global Development”.
International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said on Friday a number of meetings will take place ahead of the summit, including a meeting of the BRICS Business Council and its working groups, the BRICS ministers of finance and central bank governors, the first meeting of the BRICS Board of Governors of the New Development Bank and the BRICS ministers of trade and industry.
BRICS leaders have at the G20 Summit in Brisbane on 15 November 2014 requested their finance ministers to designate the President and Vice-Presidents of the New Development Bank, in advance of the next summit.
The minister said the BRICS summit would receive feedback in this regard.
“The leaders also asked the finance ministers and central bank governors to ensure that, by the next summit, the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) Working Group concludes the procedural rules and operational guidelines of the Governing Council and Standing Committee of the CRA, and to conclude an Inter-Central Bank Agreement,” said the Minister.
She said leaders at the summit will also be informed of the status of ratification process within each BRICS country of the New Development Bank Agreement and CRA Treaty.
The BRICS leaders are expected to adopt the Ufa Declaration and the Ufa Action Plan, which will reflect the views of BRICS member states on a number of international issues, and the action plan will spell out the areas of cooperation and meetings which will be held during the chairpersonship of Russia.
“The leaders will also witness the signing of various agreements which indicate a deepening of the BRICS relationship,” said the Minister. – SAnews.gov.za
