President Jacob Zuma says trade has increased by 70% between Brics member countries over the past couple of years and that South Africa stands to benefit from the Brics Development Bank.

The President said this when answering questions for written reply at the National Assembly in Cape Town on Thursday.

The President had been asked a question on progress that has been made amongst Brics partners and other developing countries with regard to industrial cooperation and investment.

“The summit also affirmed the importance of Brics in the global arena. Brics presents an aggregate Growth Domestic Product (GDP) exceeding $32-trillion. This marks a 60% growth since the formation of the grouping.

“Brics also accounts almost 30% of the global GDP and produces a third of the world’s industrial products and half of agricultural goods,” he said.

The President also said that further to this progress, trade amongst the Brics countries has grown by 70% since 2009.

Also, Brics countries attracted 20.5% of the global total direct investment in 2014, compared to only 16.9% in 2009.

The share of the Brics capital investment on the global market has also increased significantly, the President said, from 9.7% to 14% since 2009.

“Brics leaders also adopted as one of the key summit outcomes, a strategy for the Brics economic partnership, aimed at further boosting trade and investment ties,” he said.

The President said the Ufa declaration focusses on a number of areas, including global politics, world finance, economy and trade, cooperation in social and humanitarian spheres as well among parliaments, business and civil society.

He said, meanwhile, that the summit also produced exciting developments with relation to the Brics Development Bank.

“The seventh Brics Summit in Ufa, Russia, registered substantive progress. The key achievement was entry into force of the Brics financial institutions namely the New Development Bank and the contingency reserve arrangements.

“Two leading South African bankers have been appointed to the board of the Brics bank.

“The next exciting initiative is the establishment of the African regional centre of the bank in Johannesburg.

“South Africa is proud to host the regional centre and preparations are at an advanced stage.

SA to increase economic cooperation with Brics partners

President Zuma said South Africa would further strengthen its relationship and cooperation with Brics member countries in key economic areas.

“We stand ready to expand our economic cooperation with these partners in key areas such as food production, power generation, petrochemical industry, mining, tourism, renewable and nuclear energy, trade, transportation, communications, and trade,” he said.

The President said, meanwhile, that the Brics Development Bank had been received warmly by the world’s banks.

He said it was established after Brics leaders saw a need to introduce a bank that would cater for particularly third world countries.

“But it does not only deal with the third world. It deals with anyone who comes to seek support from the bank. It has been welcomed by all, firstly, the big world banks have received the Brics Development Bank very well.

“They see it as an important additional factor in the global financial transactions.”