‘BRICS in South Africa is a very big deal’ – researcher

South Africa’s membership of BRICS is opening up new paths for free trade and development, a research fellow at the University of Johannesburg’s Institute for Pan African Thought and Conversation told RT on Tuesday. 

“BRICS in South Africa is a very big deal” for the country, Mikatekiso Kubayi said. The group of leading emerging economies provides “the freedom to be able to trade with one another without anyone dictating to one country or another to trade with this one or trade with that one,” he added.

According to the academic, African countries now see opportunities to localize production, improve manufacturing infrastructure, and move forward with industrialization, thanks to their collaboration with the BRICS club – which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. 

The 15th BRICS summit began on Tuesday and runs through Thursday in Johannesburg, South Africa. According to the host country’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, more than 20 nations have formally applied to join the group, and several others have expressed an interest.