“It is in deriving in each others’ strength that we can thrive. It was proven that African leaders and countries see a new dimension of relation between developing countries and the Brics countries.

South Africa received a formal invitation in 2010 to join the fellow developing economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China, which were known as the Bric group at the time.

South Africa currently chairs the Brics chairmanship, which it will cede to Brazil this month when the Latin American state hosts the 6th summit.

Nkoana-Mashabane said substantive progress was achieved during South Africa’s tenure at the helm of Brics and after the country joining the forum.

“South Africa’s voice is always sought when Brics member states make decisions. At the first two Brics summits hosted before we joined, there was no vision document adopted,” she said.

Available: http://citizen.co.za/207412/sa-brics-compete-maite-nkoana-mashabane/